The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^mAscents.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And when he returned to ^tCapernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 ^uAnd they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^vthey removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus ^wsaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^xyour sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? ^yHe is blaspheming! ^zWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, ^aperceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that ^bthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^cglorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

13 He went out again beside the sea, and ^dall the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 ^eAnd as he passed by, he saw ^fLevi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^gtax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And ^hthe scribes of¹ the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^g“Why does he eat² with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ⁱI came not to call the righteous, ^jbut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

18 Now ^kJohn’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ^l“Why do John’s disciples and ^mthe disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, ⁿ“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 ^oThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^pthen they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old ^qwineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.”³

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 ^rOne Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^sbegan to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^twhy are they doing ^uwhat is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, ^v“Have you never read ^wwhat David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of^{4 x}Abiathar the high priest, and ate ^ythe bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, ^z“The Sabbath was made for man, ^anot man for the Sabbath. 28 So ^bthe Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”