THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO
LUKE
Dedication to Theophilus
1Inasmuch
as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which
have been accomplished among us,
2just as they were delivered to us by those who from the
beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, 3it seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closelya for some time past, to write an
orderly account for you, most excellent Theoph'ilus,
* 4that you may know the truth concerning the
things of which you have been informed.
The Birth of John the Baptist
Foretold
5*In the days of Herod, king of Judea,
there was a priest named Zechari'ah,
b of the
division of Abi'jah; and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron,
and her name was Elizabeth. 6And they were both righteous before God,
walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord
blamelessly.
7But they had no child, because Elizabeth was
barren, and both were advanced in years.
8Now while he
was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty,
9according to the custom of
the priesthood, it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the
Lord and burn incense.
10And the whole multitude of the people were
praying outside at the hour of incense.
11And there appeared to
him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of
incense.
12And
Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
13But the angel said to
him, “Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard,
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his
name John.
14And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth;
15for he will be great before the
Lord,
and he shall drink no wine nor strong
drink,
and he will be filled with the Holy
Spirit,
even from his mother’s womb.
16And he will turn many of the sons of Israel
to the Lord their God,
17and he will go before him in the
spirit and power of Eli'jah,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children,
and the disobedient to the wisdom of the
just,
to make ready for the Lord a people
prepared.”
18And Zechari'ah said to the angel, “How shall I
know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in
years.” 19And the angel answered him, “I am
Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak
to you, and to bring you this good news. 20And behold, you will
be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come
to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be
fulfilled in their time.” 21And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah,
and they wondered at his delay in the temple. 22And when he came out,
he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a
vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained mute.
23And when his
time of service was ended, he went to his home.
24After these
days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid
herself, saying,
25“Thus the Lord has done to me in the
days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among
men.”
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was
sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27to a virgin betrothed to a
man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the
virgin’s name was Mary.
28And he came to her and said, “Hail,
full of grace,
b2 the Lord is
with you!”c 29But she was greatly troubled at the saying,
and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
30And the angel said to
her,
* “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found
favor with God.
31And behold, you will conceive in your womb
and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32He will be great, and will be called the
Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne
of his father David,
33and he will reign over the house of
Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no
end.”
34And Mary said to the angel, “How can this
be,* since I have no husband?” 35And the angel said to
her,
“The Holy Spirit will come upon
you,
and the power of the Most High will
overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born
d will be
called holy,
the Son of God.
36And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has
also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was
called barren. 37For with God nothing will be
impossible.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, I am the
handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your
word.” And the angel departed from her.
Mary Visits Elizabeth; and
Mary’s Song of Praise
39In those days Mary arose and went with
haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
40and she entered the
house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.
41And when Elizabeth
heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb; and
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
42and she exclaimed
with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is
the fruit of your womb!
43And why is this granted me, that the mother
of my Lord should come to me?
44For behold, when the voice of your greeting
came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped for joy.
45And blessed is she who
believed that there would be
e a fulfilment
of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
47and my spirit rejoices in God my
Savior,
48for he has regarded the low estate of his
handmaiden.
For behold, henceforth all generations will
call me blessed;
49for he who is mighty has done great things
for me,
and holy is his name.
50And his mercy is on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51He has shown strength with his arm,
he has scattered the proud in the
imagination of their hearts,
52he has put down the mighty from their
thrones,
and exalted those of low degree;
53he has filled the hungry with good
things,
and the rich he has sent empty away.
54He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his posterity for
ever.”*
56And Mary remained with her about three months, and
returned to her home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57Now the time came for Elizabeth to be
delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
58And her neighbors and
kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they
rejoiced with her.
59And on the eighth day they came to
circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechari'ah
after his father,
60but his
mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”
61And they
said to her, “None of your kindred is called by this
name.”
62And they made signs to his father,
inquiring what he would have him called.
63And he asked for a
writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” And they
all marveled.
64And immediately his mouth was opened and
his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65And fear came on all
their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all
the hill country of Judea;
66and all who heard them laid them up in
their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?”
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah’s Prophecy
67And his father Zechari'ah was filled with
the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
68“Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his
people,
69and has raised up a horn of
salvation
* for us
in the house of his servant David,
70as he spoke by the mouth of his holy
prophets from of old,
71that we should be saved from our
enemies,
and from the hand of all who hate us;
72to perform the mercy promised to our
fathers,
and to remember his holy covenant,
73the oath which he swore to our father
Abraham,
74to
grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of
our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
75in holiness and righteousness before him
all the days of our life.
76And you, child, will be called the
prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare
his ways,
77to give knowledge of salvation to his
people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
78through the tender mercy of our
God,
when the day shall dawn upon
f us from on
high
79to give light to those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of
peace.”
80And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he
was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to
Israel.
The Birth of Jesus
2In those days a
decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be
enrolled. 2This was the first enrollment, when
Quirin'ius was governor of Syria. 3And all went to be enrolled, each to his own
city. 4And Joseph also went
up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house
and lineage of David, 5to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed, who
was with child. 6And while they were there, the time came for
her to be delivered. 7And she gave birth to her first-born*
son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8And in that region there were shepherds out
in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And an angel of the Lord
appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and
they were filled with fear.
10And the angel said to them, “Be not
afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will
come to all the people;
11for to you is born this day in the
city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12And this will be a
sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and
lying in a manger.”
13And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14“Glory to God in the
highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is
pleased!”
g
15When the
angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that
has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”
16And they went with
haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.
17And when
they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them
concerning this child;
18and all who heard it wondered at what the
shepherds told them.
19But Mary kept all these things,
pondering them in her heart.
20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told
them.
Jesus Is Circumcised and Named
21And at the end of eight days, when he
was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
Jesus Is Presented in the Temple
22And when the time came for their
purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to
Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23(as it is written in
the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be
called holy to the Lord”)
24and to offer a sacrifice according to what
is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or
two young pigeons.”
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout,
looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon
him.
26And it
had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see
death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.
27And inspired by the
Spirit
h he came
into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him according to the custom of the law, 28he took him up in his
arms and blessed God and said,
29“Lord, now let your servant depart in
peace,
according to your word;
30for my eyes have seen your
salvation
31which you have prepared in the presence of
all peoples,
32a light for revelation to the
Gentiles,
and for glory to your people
Israel.”
33And his
father and his mother marveled at what was said about him;
34and Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is set for the
fall* and rising of many in Israel,
and for a sign that is spoken against
35(and a sword will pierce through your own
soul also),
that thoughts out of many hearts may be
revealed.”
36And there was a prophetess,
Anna, the daughter of Phan'uel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a
great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her
virginity,
37and as a widow till she was eighty-four.
She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and
prayer night and day.
38And coming up at that very hour she gave
thanks to God, and spoke of him to all who were looking for the
redemption of Jerusalem.
The Return to Nazareth
39And when they had performed everything
according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to
their own city, Nazareth.
40And the child grew and became strong,
filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
41Now his parents went to Jerusalem
every year at the feast of the Passover.
42And when he was
twelve years old, they went up according to custom;
43and when the feast
was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in
Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,
44but supposing him to
be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought
him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances;
45and when they did not
find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him.
46After three days they
found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to
them and asking them questions;
47and all who heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers.
48And when they saw him they were
astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you
treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you
anxiously.”
49And he
said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know
that I must be in my Father’s house?”
*
50And they did
not understand the saying which he spoke to them.
51And he went down with
them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother
kept all these things in her heart.
52And Jesus increased in
wisdom and in stature,
i and in favor
with God and man.
The Preaching of John the
Baptist
3In the fifteenth year
of the reign of Tibe'rius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of
Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip
tetrarch of the region of Iturae'a and Trachoni'tis, and Lysa'nias
tetrarch of Abile'ne, 2in the high-priesthood of Annas and
Cai'aphas,* the word of God came to John the son of
Zechari'ah in the wilderness; 3and he went into all the region about the
Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins. 4As it is written in
the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the
wilderness:
Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
5Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought
low,
and the crooked shall be made
straight,
and the rough ways shall be made
smooth;
6and all flesh shall see the salvation of
God.”
7He said therefore to the
multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of
vipers!
* Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8Bear fruits that befit
repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have
Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
9Even now the axe is laid to
the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10And the
multitudes asked him, “What then shall we do?”
11And he answered them,
“He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none;
and he who has food, let him do likewise.”
12Tax collectors also came to
be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we
do?”
13And he said to them, “Collect no more
than is appointed you.”
14Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what
shall we do?” And he said to them, “Rob no one by
violence or by false accusation, and be content with your
wages.”
15As the people were in
expectation, and all men questioned in their hearts concerning
John, whether perhaps he were the Christ,
16John answered them
all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I
is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he
will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
17His winnowing fork is
in his hand, to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat
into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable
fire.”
18So, with
many other exhortations, he preached good news to the people.
19But Herod the
tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Hero'di-as, his
brother’s wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had
done,
20added
this to them all, that he shut up John in prison.
The Baptism of Jesus
21Now when all the people were
baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
the heaven was opened,
22and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, “You
are my beloved Son;
j with you I am
well pleased.”k
The Ancestry of Jesus
23Jesus, when he began his ministry,
was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of
Joseph,
* the son of He'li,
24the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jan'na-i, the son of
Joseph,
25the
son of Mattathi'as, the son of Amos, the son of Na'hum, the son of
Es'li, the son of Nag'ga-i,
26the son of Ma'ath, the son of Mattathi'as,
the son of Sem'e-in, the son of Jo'sech, the son of Jo'da,
27the son of Jo-an'an,
the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerub'babel, the son of
She-al'ti-el,
l the son of
Ne'ri, 28the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son
of Co'sam, the son of Elma'dam, the son of Er,
29the son of Joshua,
the son of Elie'zer, the son of Jo'rim, the son of Matthat, the son
of Levi,
30the
son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of
Jo'nam, the son of Eli'akim,
31the son of Me'le-a, the son of Menna, the
son of Mat'tatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,
32the son of Jesse, the
son of O'bed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sa'la, the son of
Nahshon,
33the
son of Ammin'adab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of
Hezron, the son of Per'ez, the son of Judah,
34the son of Jacob, the
son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Te'rah, the son of
Na'hor,
35the
son of Se'rug, the son of Re'u, the son of Pe'leg, the son of
E'ber, the son of She'lah,
36the son of Ca-i'nan, the son of Arpha'xad,
the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of La'mech,
37the son of
Methu'selah, the son of E'noch, the son of Jar'ed, the son of
Maha'lale''el, the son of Ca-i'nan,
38the son of E'nos, the son of Seth, the son
of Adam, the son of God.
The Temptation of Jesus
4And Jesus, full of
the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the
Spirit 2for forty days in the
wilderness, tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing in those days;
and when they were ended, he was hungry. 3The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become
bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5And the devil took him
up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of
time, 6and said to him,
“To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for
it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.
7If you, then,
will worship me, it shall all be yours.” 8And Jesus answered him,
“It is written,
‘You shall worship the Lord your
God,
and him only shall you serve.' "
9And he took him to Jerusalem, and set him on the
pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son
of God, throw yourself down from here; 10for it is
written,
‘He will give his angels charge of
you, to guard you,’
11and
‘On their hands they will bear you
up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.'
"
12And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You
shall not tempt the Lord your God.' " 13And when the devil
had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune
time.
Jesus Begins Preaching and Teaching in
Galilee
14And Jesus returned in the power of
the Spirit into Galilee, and a report concerning him went out
through all the surrounding country.
15And he taught in
their synagogues, being glorified by all.
The Rejection of Jesus at
Nazareth
16And he came to Nazareth, where he had
been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as was his custom,
on the sabbath day.
* And he stood up to read;
17and there was given to him
the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the
place where it was written,
18“The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me,
because he has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the
captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are
oppressed,
19to proclaim the acceptable year of the
Lord.”
20And he closed the book, and gave it back to the
attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were
fixed on him. 21And he began to say to them, “Today
this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22And all spoke well of
him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his
mouth; and they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
23And he said to them,
“Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb,
‘Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at
Caper'na-um, do here also in your own country.’”
24And he said,
“Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own
country. 25But in truth, I tell you, there were many
widows in Israel in the days of Eli'jah, when the heaven was shut
up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over
all the land; 26and
Eli'jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar'ephath, in the
land of Si'don, to a woman who was a widow. 27And there were many
lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli'sha; and none of
them was cleansed, but only Na'aman the Syrian.” 28When they heard this,
all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29And they rose up and
put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on
which their city was built, that they might throw him down
headlong. 30But passing through the midst of them he
went away.
The Man with an Unclean Spirit
31And he went down to Caper'na-um, a
city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the sabbath;
32and they were
astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.
33And in the synagogue
there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon; and he
cried out with a loud voice,
34“Ah!
m What have you
to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I
know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35But Jesus rebuked
him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And when
the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him,
having done him no harm.
36And they were all amazed and said to one
another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he
commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.”
37And reports of him
went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Healings at Simon’s House
38And he arose and left the synagogue,
and entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law
was ill with a high fever, and they asked him about her.
39And he stood over her
and rebuked the fever, and it left her; and immediately she rose
and served them.
40Now when the sun was
setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases
brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them and
healed them.
41And demons also came out of many, crying,
“You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them, and
would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the
Christ.
Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues of
Judea
42And when it was day he departed and
went into a lonely place. And the people sought him and came to
him, and would have kept him from leaving them;
43but he said to them,
“I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the
other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”
44And he was preaching
in the synagogues of Judea.
n
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
5While the people
pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the
lake of Gennes'aret. 2And he saw two boats by the lake; but the
fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
3Getting into one of the boats, which was
Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And
he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4And when he had ceased
speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let
down your nets for a catch.” 5And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled
all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the
nets.” 6And when
they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as
their nets were breaking, 7they beckoned to their partners in the other
boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the
boats, so that they began to sink. 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at
Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord.” 9For he was astonished, and all that were
with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10and so also were James and
John, sons of Zeb'edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus
said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be
catching men.” 11And when they had brought their boats to
land, they left everything and followed him.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
12While he was in one of the cities, there
came a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his
face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me
clean.”
13And he stretched out his hand, and touched
him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the
leprosy left him.
14And he charged him to tell no one; but
“go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for
your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to the
people.”
o 15But so much the more the report went
abroad concerning him; and great multitudes gathered to hear and to
be healed of their infirmities.
16But he withdrew to the wilderness and
prayed.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17On one of those days, as he was
teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by,
who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from
Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.
p 18And behold, men were bringing on a bed a man
who was paralyzed, and they sought to bring him in and lay him
before Jesus;
q 19but finding no way to bring him in, because
of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his
bed through the tiles into their midst before Jesus.
20And when he saw their
faith he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
21And the
scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is
this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only?”
22When Jesus perceived their questionings, he
answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts?
23Which is easier, to
say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say,
‘Rise and walk’?
24But that you may know that the Son of man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the
man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, take up your
bed and go home.”
25And immediately he rose before them, and
took up that on which he lay, and went home, glorifying God.
26And
amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled
with awe, saying, “We have seen strange things
today.”
Jesus Calls Levi
27After this he went out, and saw a tax
collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to
him, “Follow me.”
28And he left everything, and rose and
followed him.
29And Levi made him a great
feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors
and others sitting at table
r with
them. 30And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured
against his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with
tax collectors and sinners?”
31And Jesus answered them, “Those who
are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;
32I have not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
The Question about Fasting
33And they said to him, “The
disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the
disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.”
34And Jesus
said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the
bridegroom is with them?
35The days will come, when the
bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in
those days.”
36He told them a parable also: “No one
tears a piece from a new garment and puts it upon an old garment;
if he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will
not match the old.
37And no one puts new wine into old
wineskins; if he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it
will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.
38But new wine must be
put into fresh wineskins.
39And no one after drinking old wine desires
new; for he says, ‘The old is good.' "
s
A Teaching about the Sabbath
6On a
sabbath,t while he was going through the
grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands.
2But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing
what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?” 3And Jesus answered,
“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and
those who were with him: 4how he entered the house of God, and took and
ate the showbread, which it is not lawful for any but the priests
to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5And he said to them,
“The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.”
The Man with a Withered Hand
6On another sabbath, when he entered the
synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was
withered.
7And
the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would
heal on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against
him.
8But he
knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered
hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood
there.
9And Jesus said to
them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or
to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?”
10And he looked around
on them all, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.”
And he did so, and his hand was restored.
11But they were filled
with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to
Jesus.
Jesus Chooses the Twelve
Disciples
12In these days he went out to the
hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God.
13And when it
was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom
he named apostles;
14Simon, whom he named Peter, and Andrew his
brother, and James and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew,
15and Matthew, and
Thomas, and James the son of Alphae'us, and Simon who was called
the Zealot,
16and Judas the son of James, and Judas
Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Jesus Teaches and Heals
17And he came down with them and stood
on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great
multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast
of Tyre and Si'don, who came to hear him and to be healed of their
diseases;
18and those who were troubled with unclean
spirits were cured.
19And all the crowd sought to touch him,
for power came forth from him and healed them all.
Blessings and Woes
20And he lifted up his eyes on his
disciples, and said:
*
“Blessed are you poor, for yours
is the kingdom of God.
21“Blessed are you that hunger now, for you
shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are you that weep now,
for you shall laugh.
22“Blessed are you when
men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast
out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man!
23Rejoice in that day,
and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for
so their fathers did to the prophets.
24“But woe to you that
are rich, for you have received your consolation.
25“Woe
to you that are full now, for you shall hunger.
“Woe to you that laugh now, for
you shall mourn and weep.
26“Woe
to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to
the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
27“But I say to you that hear,
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28bless those who curse you,
pray for those who abuse you.
29To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer
the other also; and from him who takes away your cloak do not
withhold your coat as well.
30Give to every one who begs from you; and of
him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
31And as you wish that
men would do to you, do so to them.
32“If you love those
who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love
those who love them.
33And if you do good to those who do good to
you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34And if you
lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to
you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35But love your
enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in
return;
v and
your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High;
for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. 36Be merciful, even as
your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37“Judge not, and you will not be
judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and
you will be forgiven;
38give, and it will be given to you;
good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be
put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you
get back.”
39He also told them a
parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not
both fall into a pit?
40A disciple is not above his teacher,
but every one when he is fully taught will be like his teacher.
41Why do you see the
speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the
log that is in your own eye?
42Or how can you say to your brother,
‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your
eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your
brother’s eye.
A Tree and Its Fruit
43“For no good tree bears bad
fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit;
44for each tree is
known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorns, nor
are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
45The good man out of
the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil man out
of his evil treasure produces evil; for out of the abundance of the
heart his mouth speaks.
Hearers and Doers
46“Why do you call me
‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
47Every one who comes
to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is
like:
48he is like a man
building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock;
and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and
could not shake it, because it had been well built.
w 49But he who hears and does not do them is
like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation;
against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the
ruin of that house was great.”
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s
Slave
7After he had ended
all his sayings in the hearing of the people he entered
Caper'na-um. 2Now a
centurion had a slave who was dearx to him, who was sick and at the point
of death.
3When he heard
of Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and
heal his slave. 4And when they came to Jesus, they begged him
earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him,
5for he loves our nation, and
he built us our synagogue.” 6And Jesus went with them. When he was not
far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying to
him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to
have you come under my roof; 7therefore I did not presume to come to you.
But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8For I am a man set
under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one,
‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’
and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does
it.” 9When Jesus heard this he marveled at him,
and turned and said to the multitude that followed him, “I
tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
10And when
those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave
well.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son at
Nain
11Soon afterward
y he went to a
city called Na'in, and his disciples and a great crowd went with
him. 12As he drew near to the gate of the city,
behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of
his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city
was with her.
13And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion
on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
14And he came and touched the
bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I
say to you, arise.”
15And the dead man sat up, and began to
speak. And he gave him to his mother.
16Fear seized them all;
and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen
among us!” and “God has visited his people!”
17And this
report concerning him spread through the whole of Judea and all the
surrounding country.
Messengers from John the Baptist
18The disciples of John told him of all
these things.
19And
John, calling to him two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord,
saying, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for
another?”
20And when the men had come to him, they
said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying,
‘Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?' "
21In that hour he cured
many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many that
were blind he bestowed sight.
22And he answered them, “Go and
tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their
sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.
23And blessed
is he who takes no offense at me.”
24When the
messengers of John had gone, he began to speak to the crowds
concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to
behold? A reed shaken by the wind?
25What then did you go out to see? A man
clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who are gorgeously appareled
and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
26What then did you go out to
see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
27This is he of whom it
is written,
‘Behold, I send my messenger before
your face,
who shall prepare your way before
you.’
28I tell you, among those born of women none is greater
than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater
than he.”* 29(When they heard this all the people
and the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the
baptism of John; 30but the
Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for
themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31“To what then shall I
compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?
32They are
like children sitting in the market place and calling to one
another,
‘We piped to you, and you did not
dance;
we wailed, and you did not
weep.’
33For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and
drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon.’
34The Son of man has
come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and
a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’
35Yet wisdom
is justified by all her children.”
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36One of the Pharisees asked him to eat
with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat at
table.
37And
behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned
that he was sitting at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought
an alabaster flask of ointment,
38and standing behind him at his feet,
weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them
with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them
with the ointment.
39Now when the Pharisee who had invited
him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,
he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is
touching him, for she is a sinner.”
40And Jesus answering
said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?”
41“A certain
creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the
other fifty.
42When they could not pay, he forgave them
both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43Simon answered,
“The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he
said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
44Then turning toward the
woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered
your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my
feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45You gave me no kiss,
but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
46You did not
anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with
ointment.
47Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are
many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven
little, loves little.”
* 48And he said to her, “Your sins
are forgiven.”
49Then those who were at table with him began
to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives
sins?”
50And he said to the woman, “Your faith
has saved you; go in peace.”
Some Women Accompany Jesus
8Soon afterward he
went on through cities and villages, preaching and bringing the
good news of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve were with him,
2and also some women who had
been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called
Mag'dalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3and Jo-an'na, the wife of
Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who
provided for themz out of their means.
The Parable of the Sower
4And when a great crowd came together and
people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable:
5“A
sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along
the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air
devoured it.
6And some fell on the rock; and as it grew
up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7And some fell among
thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
8And some fell into good soil
and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said this, he
called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.”
The Explanation of the Parable
9And when his disciples asked him what this
parable meant,
10he said,
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom
of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they
may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
11Now the parable is
this: The seed is the word of God.
12The ones along the path are those who have
heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their
hearts, that they may not believe and be saved.
13And the ones on the
rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy;
but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of
temptation fall away.
14And as for what fell among the thorns, they
are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by
the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does
not mature.
15And as for that in the good soil, they are
those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good
heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.
A Lamp Is Not Hidden
16“No one after lighting a lamp
covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a
stand, that those who enter may see the light.
17For nothing is hidden
that shall not be made manifest, nor anything secret that shall not
be known and come to light.
18Take heed then how you hear; for to
him who has will more be given, and from him who has not, even what
he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
The True Kindred of Jesus
19Then his mother and his
brethren
* came to him, but they could not reach him for
the crowd.
20And he was told, “Your mother and
your brethren are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
21But he said to them,
“My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God
and do it.”
Jesus Calms a Storm on the Sea
22One day he got into a boat with his
disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the
other side of the lake.” So they set out,
23and as they sailed he
fell asleep. And a storm of wind came down on the lake, and they
were filling with water, and were in danger.
24And they went and
woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they
ceased, and there was a calm.
25He said to them, “Where is your
faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to
one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even wind
and water, and they obey him?”
Jesus Heals the Gerasene
Demoniac
26Then they arrived at the country of
the Ger'asenes,
a which is
opposite Galilee. 27And as he stepped out on land, there met
him a man from the city who had demons; for a long time he had worn
no clothes, and he lived not in a house but among the tombs.
28When he saw Jesus, he
cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High
God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
29For he had commanded
the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had
seized him; he was kept under guard, and bound with chains and
shackles, but he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into
the desert.)
30Jesus then asked him, “What is your
name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had
entered him.
31And they begged him not to command them to
depart into the abyss.
32Now a large herd of swine was feeding there
on the hillside; and they begged him to let them enter these. So he
gave them leave.
33Then the demons came out of the man and
entered the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the
lake and were drowned.
34When the
herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled, and told it in the city
and in the country.
35Then people went out to see what had
happened, and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the
demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his
right mind; and they were afraid.
36And those who had seen it told them how he
who had been possessed with demons was healed.
37Then all the people
of the surrounding country of the Ger'asenes
a asked him to
depart from them; for they were seized with great fear; so he got
into the boat and returned. 38The man from whom the demons had gone
begged that he might be with him; but he sent him away, saying,
39“Return to your
home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went
away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done
for him.
*
A Girl Restored to Life anda Woman
Healed
40Now when Jesus returned, the crowd
welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
41And there came a man
named Ja'irus, who was a ruler of the synagogue; and falling at
Jesus’ feet he begged him to come to his house,
42for he had an only
daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As he went, the people pressed round
him.
43And a woman who had
had a flow of blood for twelve years and had spent all her living
upon physicians
b and could not
be healed by any one, 44came up behind him, and touched the fringe
of his garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased.
45And Jesus said,
“Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it,
Peter
c said,
“Master, the multitudes surround you and press upon
you!” 46But Jesus said, “Some one
touched me; for I perceive that power has gone forth from
me.”
47And when the woman saw that she was not
hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in
the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she
had been immediately healed.
48And he said to her, “Daughter,
your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49While he was still
speaking, a man from the ruler’s house came and said,
“Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any
more.”
50But Jesus on hearing this answered him,
“Do not fear; only believe, and she shall be well.”
51And when he came to
the house, he permitted no one to enter with him, except Peter and
John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
52And all were weeping
and bewailing her; but he said, “Do not weep; for she is not
dead but sleeping.”
53And they laughed at him, knowing that she
was dead.
54But taking her by the hand he called,
saying, “Child, arise.”
55And her spirit returned, and she got up at
once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat.
56And her parents were
amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
The Mission of the Twelve
9And he called the
Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons
and to cure diseases, 2and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of
God and to heal. 3And he
said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor
bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4And whatever house you
enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5And wherever they do not
receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your
feet as a testimony against them.” 6And they departed and went
through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing
everywhere.
Herod’s Perplexity
7Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was
done, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John
had been raised from the dead,
8by some that Eli'jah had appeared, and by
others that one of the old prophets had risen.
9Herod said, “John I
beheaded; but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And
he sought to see him.
Feeding the Five Thousand
10On their return the apostles told him
what they had done. And he took them and withdrew apart to a city
called Beth-sa'ida.
11When the crowds learned it, they
followed him; and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom
of God, and cured those who had need of healing.
12Now the day began to
wear away; and the Twelve came and said to him, “Send the
crowd away, to go into the villages and country round about, to
lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a lonely place.”
13But he said to them,
“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We
have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless we are to
go and buy food for all these people.”
14For there were about
five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them
sit down in companies, about fifty each.”
15And they did so, and
made them all sit down.
16And taking the five loaves and the two
fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave
them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
17And all ate and were
satisfied. And they took up what was left over, twelve baskets of
broken pieces.
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