Jesus Calls the First Disciples

1 ^zOn one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the ^alake of Gennesaret, 2 and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting 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. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^b“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a ^clarge number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled 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. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^d“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be ^ecatching men.”¹ 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they ^fleft everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 ^gWhile he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of ^hleprosy.² And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus³ stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” ⁱAnd immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to ^jtell no one, but “go and ^kshow yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, ^las Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15 ^mBut now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 ⁿOn one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was ^owith him ^pto heal.⁴ 18 And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but 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 the midst before Jesus. 20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^qyour sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^rblasphemies? ^sWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the ^tSon of Man has ^uauthority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they ^vglorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 ^wAfter this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, ^x“Follow me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was ^ya large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you ^zeat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 ^aI have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

33 ^bAnd 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.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the ^cbridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And 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. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”⁵

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 ^dOn a Sabbath,⁶ while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples ^eplucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing ^fwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” 3 And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read ^gwhat David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and took and ate ^hthe bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” 5 And he said to them, “The ⁱSon of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

6 ^jOn another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees ^kwatched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. 8 But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. 9 And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, ^lis it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” 10 And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. 11 But they were filled with ^mfury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles

12 ⁿIn these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them ^otwelve, whom he named apostles: 14 ^pSimon, whom he ^qnamed Peter, and ^rAndrew his brother, and ^sJames and John, and ^tPhilip, and ^uBartholomew, 15 and ^vMatthew, and ^wThomas, and ^xJames the son of Alphaeus, and ^ySimon who was called the Zealot, 16 and ^zJudas the son of James, and ^aJudas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Jesus Ministers to a Great Multitude

17 ^bAnd 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 Sidon, 18 who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and ^chealed them all.

The Beatitudes

20 ^dAnd he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are ^epoor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be ^fsatisfied.

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and ^gleap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the ^hprophets.

Jesus Pronounces Woes

24 “But ⁱwoe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

25 “Woe to you who are full now, for ^jyou shall be hungry.

“Woe to you who ^klaugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

26 “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for ^lso their fathers did to the false prophets.

Love Your Enemies

27 ^m“But I say to you who hear, ⁿLove your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 ^obless those who curse you, ^ppray for those who abuse you. 29 ^qTo one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic⁷ either. 30 ^rGive to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And ^sas you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, ^texpecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is ^umerciful.

Judging Others

37 ^v“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; ^wforgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For ^xwith the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

39 He also told them a parable: “Can a ^yblind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40 ^zA disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42 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 ^a“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. ^bFor figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for ^cout of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build Your House on the Rock

46 ^d“Why do you call me ^e‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 ^fEveryone who comes to me and ^ghears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.⁸ 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant

1 ^hAfter he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant⁹ who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion¹⁰ heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too 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 servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, ⁱnot even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 ^jSoon afterward¹¹ he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, ^k“Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, ^land Jesus¹² gave him to his mother. 16 ^mFear seized them all, and they ⁿglorified God, saying, “A great ^oprophet has arisen among us!” and ^p“God has visited his people!” 17 And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 ^qThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you ^rthe one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John ^swhat you have seen and heard: ^tthe blind receive their sight, the ^ulame walk, lepers¹³ are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the ^vdead are raised up, the ^wpoor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

24 When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus¹⁴ began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^xinto the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 What then did you go out to see? A ^yprophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,

28 I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just,¹⁵ having been baptized with the baptism of John, 30 but the Pharisees and the lawyers ^arejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

31 “To what then shall I compare the people of ^bthis generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

33 For John the Baptist has come ^ceating no bread and ^ddrinking no wine, and you say, ^e‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a ^ffriend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 ^gYet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

36 ^hOne of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and 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. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, 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 ⁱsinner.” 40 And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^jdenarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he ^kcancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then 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. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, ^l“Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among¹⁶ themselves, ^m“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, ⁿ“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

The Wedding at Cana

1 ^oOn the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? ^pMy hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.¹ 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his ^qsigns, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his ^rglory. And his disciples believed in him.