Matthew 8-10

Complete Jewish Bible

8 After Yeshua had come down from the hill, large crowds followed him. ² Then a man afflicted with tzara‘at came, kneeled down in front of him and said, “Sir, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” ³ Yeshua reached out his hand, touched him and said, “I am willing! Be cleansed!” And at once he was cleansed from his tzara‘at. ⁴ Then Yeshua said to him, “See that you tell no one; but as a testimony to the people, go and let the cohen examine you, and offer the sacrifice that Moshe commanded.”

⁵ As Yeshua entered K’far-Nachum, a Roman army officer came up and pleaded for help. ⁶ “Sir, my orderly is lying at home paralyzed and suffering terribly!” ⁷ Yeshua said, “I will go and heal him.” ⁸ But the officer answered, “Sir, I am unfit to have you come into my home. Rather, if you will only give the command, my orderly will recover. ⁹ For I too am a man under authority. I have soldiers under me, and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ¹⁰ On hearing this Yeshua was amazed and said to the people following him, “Yes! I tell you, I have not found anyone in Isra’el with such trust! ¹¹ Moreover, I tell you that many will come from the east and from the west to take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. ¹² But those born for the Kingdom will be thrown outside in the dark, where people will wail and grind their teeth!” ¹³ Then Yeshua said to the officer, “Go; let it be for you as you have trusted.” And his orderly was healed at that very moment.

¹⁴ Yeshua went to Kefa’s home and there saw Kefa’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she got up and began helping him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many people held in the power of demons were brought to him. He expelled the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. ¹⁷ This was done to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Yesha‘yahu,

¹⁸ When Yeshua saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. ¹⁹ A Torah-teacher approached and said to him, “Rabbi, I will follow you wherever you go.” ²⁰ Yeshua said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds flying about have nests, but the Son of Man has no home of his own.” ²¹ Another of the talmidim said to him, “Sir, first let me go and bury my father.” ²² But Yeshua replied, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

²³ He boarded the boat, and his talmidim followed. ²⁴ Then, without warning, a furious storm arose on the lake, so that waves were sweeping over the boat. But Yeshua was sleeping. ²⁵ So they came and roused him, saying, “Sir! Help! We’re about to die!” ²⁶ He said to them, “Why are you afraid? So little trust you have!” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a dead calm. ²⁷ The men were astounded. They asked, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”

²⁸ When Yeshua arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gadarenes’ territory, there came out of the burial caves two men controlled by demons, so violent that no one dared travel on that road. ²⁹ They screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” ³⁰ Now some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. ³¹ The demons begged him, “If you are going to drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” ³² “All right, go!” he told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, whereupon the entire herd rushed down the hillside into the lake and drowned. ³³ The swineherds fled, went off to the town and told the whole story, including what had happened to the demonized men. ³⁴ At this, the whole town came out to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their district.

9 So he stepped into a boat, crossed the lake again and came to his own town. ² Some people brought him a paralyzed man lying on a mattress. When Yeshua saw their trust, he said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, son! Your sins are forgiven.” ³ On seeing this, some of the Torah-teachers said among themselves, “This man is blaspheming!” ⁴ Yeshua, knowing what they were thinking, said, “Why are you entertaining evil thoughts in your hearts? ⁵ Tell me, which is easier to say — ‘Your sins are forgiven’ or ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶ But look! I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” He then said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your mattress, and go home!” ⁷ And the man got up and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and said a b’rakhah to God the Giver of such authority to human beings.

⁹ As Yeshua passed on from there he spotted a tax-collector named Mattityahu sitting in his collection booth. He said to him, “Follow me!” and he got up and followed him.

¹⁰ While Yeshua was in the house eating, many tax-collectors and sinners came and joined him and his talmidim at the meal. ¹¹ When the P’rushim saw this, they said to his talmidim, “Why does your rabbi eat with tax-collectors and sinners?” ¹² But Yeshua heard the question and answered, “The ones who need a doctor aren’t the healthy but the sick. ¹³ As for you, go and learn what this means: ‘I want compassion rather than animal-sacrifices.’^[b] For I didn’t come to call the ‘righteous,’ but sinners!”

¹⁴ Next, Yochanan’s talmidim came to him and asked, “Why is it that we and the P’rushim fast frequently, but your talmidim don’t fast at all?” ¹⁵ Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a worse hole. ¹⁷ Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved.”

¹⁸ While he was talking, an official came in, kneeled down in front of him and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live.” ¹⁹ Yeshua, with his talmidim, got up and followed him.

²⁰ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years approached him from behind and touched the tzitzit on his robe. ²¹ For she said to herself, “If I can only touch his robe, I will be healed.” ²² Yeshua turned, saw her and said, “Courage, daughter! Your trust has healed you.” And she was instantly healed.

²³ When Yeshua arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute-players, and the crowd in an uproar, ²⁴ he said, “Everybody out! The girl isn’t dead, she’s only sleeping!” And they jeered at him. ²⁵ But after the people had been put outside, he entered and took hold of the girl’s hand, and she got up. ²⁶ News of this spread through all that region.

²⁷ As Yeshua went on from there, two blind men began following him, shouting, “Son of David! Take pity on us!” ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came up, and Yeshua said to them, “Do you believe that I have the power to do this?” They replied, “Yes, sir.” ²⁹ Then he touched their eyes and said, “Let it happen to you according to your trust”; ³⁰ and their sight was restored. Yeshua warned them severely, “See that no one knows about it.” ³¹ But instead, they went away and talked about him throughout that district.

³² As they were going, a man controlled by a demon and unable to speak was brought to Yeshua. ³³ After the demon was expelled the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Isra’el,” they said. ³⁴ But the P’rushim said, “It is through the ruler of the demons that he expels demons.”

³⁵ Yeshua went about all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and weakness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ Then he said to his talmidim, “The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”

10 Yeshua called his twelve talmidim and gave them authority to drive out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of disease and weakness. ² These are the names of the twelve emissaries:

⁵ These twelve Yeshua sent out with the following instructions: “Don’t go into the territory of the Goyim, and don’t enter any town in Shomron, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Isra’el. ⁷ As you go, proclaim, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near,’ ⁸ heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those afflicted with tzara’at, expel demons. You have received without paying, so give without asking payment. ⁹ Don’t take money in your belts, no gold, no silver, no copper; ¹⁰ and for the trip don’t take a pack, an extra shirt, shoes or a walking stick — a worker should be given what he needs.

¹¹ “When you come to a town or village, look for someone trustworthy and stay with him until you leave. ¹² When you enter someone’s household, say, ‘Shalom aleikhem!’ ¹³ If the home deserves it, let your shalom rest on it; if not, let your shalom return to you. ¹⁴ But if the people of a house or town will not welcome you or listen to you, leave it and shake its dust from your feet! ¹⁵ Yes, I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the Day of Judgment for the people of S’dom and ‘Amora than for that town!

¹⁶ “Pay attention! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves, so be as prudent as snakes and as harmless as doves. ¹⁷ Be on guard, for there will be people who will hand you over to the local Sanhedrins and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as a testimony to them and to the Goyim. ¹⁹ But when they bring you to trial, do not worry about what to say or how to say it; when the time comes, you will be given what you should say. ²⁰ For it will not be just you speaking, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you.

²¹ “A brother will betray his brother to death, and a father his child; children will turn against their parents and have them put to death. ²² Everyone will hate you because of me, but whoever holds out till the end will be preserved from harm. ²³ When you are persecuted in one town, run away to another. Yes indeed; I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Isra’el before the Son of Man comes.

²⁴ “A talmid is not greater than his rabbi, a slave is not greater than his master. ²⁵ It is enough for a talmid that he become like his rabbi, and a slave like his master. Now if people have called the head of the house Ba‘al-Zibbul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! ²⁶ So do not fear them; for there is nothing covered that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim on the housetops.

²⁸ “Do not fear those who kill the body but are powerless to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both soul and body in Gei-Hinnom. ²⁹ Aren’t sparrows sold for next to nothing, two for an assarion? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s consent. ³⁰ As for you, every hair on your head has been counted. ³¹ So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me in the presence of others I will also acknowledge in the presence of my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others I will disown before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ “Don’t suppose that I have come to bring peace to the Land. It is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword! ³⁵ For I have come to set

³⁷ Whoever loves his father or mother more than he loves me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than he loves me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ And anyone who does not take up his execution-stake and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his own life will lose it, but the person who loses his life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you is receiving me, and whoever receives me is receiving the One who sent me. ⁴¹ Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive the reward a prophet gets, and anyone who receives a tzaddik because he is a tzaddik will receive the reward a tzaddik gets. ⁴² Indeed, if someone gives just a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my talmid — yes! — I tell you, he will certainly not lose his reward!”