Luke 8-9 (Amplified Bible)

Luke 8

 ¹SOON AFTERWARD, [Jesus] went on through towns and villages, preaching and bringing the good news (the Gospel) of the kingdom of God. And the Twelve [apostles] were with Him,

    ²And also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had been expelled;

    ³And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager; and Susanna; and many others, who ministered to and provided for ^[a]Him and them out of their property and personal belongings.

    ⁴And when a very great throng was gathering together and people from town after town kept coming to Jesus, He said in a parable:

    ⁵A sower went out to sow seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the traveled path and was trodden underfoot, and the birds of the air ate it up.

    ⁶And some [seed] fell on the rock, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away because it had no moisture.

    ⁷And other [seed] fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it [off].

    ⁸And some seed fell into good soil, and grew up and yielded a crop a hundred times [as great]. As He said these things, He called out, He who has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him ^[b]consider and understand by hearing!

    ⁹And when His disciples asked Him the meaning of this parable,

    ¹⁰He said to them, To you it has been given to [come progressively to] know (to recognize and understand more strongly and clearly) the mysteries and secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that, [though] looking, they may not see; and hearing, they may not comprehend.^(A)

    ¹¹Now the meaning of the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God.

    ¹²Those along the traveled road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and carries away the message out of their hearts, that they may not believe (^[c]acknowledge Me as their Savior and devote themselves to Me) and be saved [here and hereafter].

    ¹³And those upon the rock [are the people] who, when they hear [the Word], receive and welcome it with joy; but these have no root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation fall away (withdraw and stand aloof).

    ¹⁴And as for what fell among the thorns, these are [the people] who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked and suffocated with the anxieties and cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen (come to maturity and perfection).

    ¹⁵But as for that [seed] in the good soil, these are [the people] who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in a just (^[d]noble, virtuous) and worthy heart, and steadily bring forth fruit with patience.

    ¹⁶No one after he has lighted a lamp covers it with a vessel or puts it under a [dining table] couch; but he puts it on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.

    ¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that shall not be disclosed, nor anything secret that shall not be known and come out into the open.

    ¹⁸Be careful therefore how you listen. For to him who has [spiritual knowledge] will more be given; and from him who does not have [spiritual knowledge], even what he thinks and ^[e]guesses and ^[f]supposes that he has will be taken away.

    ¹⁹Then Jesus' mother and His brothers came along toward Him, but they could not get to Him because of the crowd.

    ²⁰And it was told Him, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to have an interview with You.

    ²¹But He answered them, My mother and My brothers are those who listen to the Word of God and do it!

    ²²One of those days He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, Let us go across to the other side of the lake. So they put out to sea.

    ²³But as they were sailing, He fell off to sleep. And a ^[g] whirlwind revolving from below upwards swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in great danger.

    ²⁴And the disciples came and woke Him, saying, Master, Master, we are perishing! And He, being thoroughly awakened, ^[h]censured and ^[i]blamed and rebuked the wind and the raging waves; and they ceased, and there came a calm.

    ²⁵And He said to them, [Why are you so fearful?] Where is your faith (your trust, your confidence in Me--in My veracity and My integrity)? And they were seized with alarm and profound and reverent dread, and they marveled, saying to one another, Who then is this, that He commands even wind and sea, and they obey Him?

    ²⁶Then they came to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee.

    ²⁷Now when Jesus stepped out on land, there met Him a certain man out of the town who had [was possessed by] demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he lived not in a house but in the tombs.

    ²⁸And when he saw Jesus, he raised a deep (terrible) cry [from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in terror] and shouted loudly, What have You [to do] with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? [^[j]What have we in common?] I beg You, do not torment me!

    ²⁹For Jesus was already commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had snatched and held him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness (desert).

    ³⁰Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for many demons had entered him.

    ³¹And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit).^(B)

    ³²Now a great herd of swine was there feeding on the hillside; and [the demons] begged Him to give them leave to enter these. And He allowed them [to do so].

    ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered into the swine, and the herd rushed down the steep cliff into the lake and were drowned.

    ³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and told it in the town and in the country.

    ³⁵And [people] went out to see what had occurred, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right (sound) mind; and they were seized with alarm and fear.

    ³⁶And those [also] who had seen it told them how he who had been possessed with demons was restored [to health].

    ³⁷Then all the people of the country surrounding the Gerasenes' district asked [Jesus] to depart from them, for they were possessed and suffering with dread and terror; so He entered a boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

    ³⁸But the man from whom the demons had gone out kept begging and ^[k]praying that he might accompany Him and be with Him, but [Jesus] sent him away, saying,

    ³⁹Return to your home, and recount [the story] of how many and great things God has done for you. And [the man] departed, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

    ⁴⁰Now when Jesus came back [to Galilee], the crowd received and welcomed Him gladly, for they were all waiting and looking for Him.

    ⁴¹And there came a man named Jairus, who had [for a ^[l]long time] been a director of the synagogue; and falling at the feet of Jesus, he begged Him to come to his house,

    ⁴²For he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As [Jesus] went, the people pressed together around Him [almost suffocating Him].

    ⁴³And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years ^[m]and had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed by anyone,

    ⁴⁴Came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His garment, and immediately her flow of blood ceased.

    ⁴⁵And Jesus said, Who is it who touched Me? When all were denying it, Peter ^[n]and those who were with him said, Master, the multitudes surround You and press You on every side!

    ⁴⁶But Jesus said, Someone did touch Me; for I perceived that [healing] power has gone forth from Me.

    ⁴⁷And when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came up trembling, and, falling down before Him, she declared in the presence of all the people for what reason she had touched Him and how she had been instantly cured.

    ⁴⁸And He said to her, Daughter, your faith (your confidence and trust in Me) has made you well! Go (enter) ^[o]into peace (^[p]untroubled, undisturbed well-being).

    ⁴⁹While He was still speaking, a man from the house of the director of the synagogue came and said [to Jairus], Your daughter is dead; do not ^[q]weary and trouble the Teacher any further.

    ⁵⁰But Jesus, on hearing this, answered him, Do not be seized with alarm or struck with fear; simply believe [^[r]in Me as able to do this], and she shall be made well.

    ⁵¹And when He came to the house, He permitted no one to enter with Him except Peter and John and James, and the girl's father and mother.

    ⁵²And all were weeping for and bewailing her; but He said, Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.

    ⁵³And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing full well that she was dead.

    ⁵⁴And grasping her hand, He called, saying, Child, arise [^[s]from the sleep of death]!

    ⁵⁵And her spirit returned [^[t]from death], and she arose immediately; and He directed that she should be given something to eat.

    ⁵⁶And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no one what had occurred.

   

Luke 9

 ¹THEN JESUS called together the Twelve [apostles] and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases,

    ²And He sent them out to announce and preach the kingdom of God and to bring healing.

    ³And He said to them, Do not take anything for your journey--neither walking stick, nor ^[u]wallet [for a collection bag], nor food of any kind, nor money, and do not have two undergarments (tunics).

    ⁴And whatever house you enter, stay there until you go away [from that place].

    ⁵And wherever they do not receive and accept and welcome you, when you leave that town shake off [even] the dust from your feet, as a testimony against them.

    ⁶And departing, they went about from village to village, preaching the Gospel and restoring the afflicted to health everywhere.

    ⁷Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was being done by [Jesus], and he was [thoroughly] perplexed and troubled, because it was said by some that John [the Baptist] had been raised from the dead,

    ⁸And by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had come back to life.

    ⁹But Herod said, John I beheaded; but Who is this about Whom I [learn] such things by hearsay? And he sought to see Him.

    ¹⁰Upon their return, the apostles reported to Jesus all that they had done. And He took them [along with Him] and withdrew into privacy near a town called Bethsaida.

    ¹¹But when the crowds learned of it, [they] followed Him; and He welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed restoration to health.

    ¹²Now the day began to decline, and the Twelve came and said to Him, Dismiss the crowds and send them away, so that they may go to the neighboring hamlets and villages and the surrounding country and find lodging and get a ^[v]supply of provisions, for we are here in an uninhabited (barren, solitary) place.

    ¹³But He said to them, You [yourselves] give them [food] to eat. They said, We have no more than five loaves and two fish--unless we are to go and buy food for all this crowd, [II Kings 4:42-44.]

    ¹⁴For there were about 5,000 men. And [Jesus] said to His disciples, Have them [sit down] reclining in table groups (companies) of about fifty each.

    ¹⁵And they did so, and made them all recline.

    ¹⁶And taking the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven and [praising God] gave thanks and asked Him to bless them [to their use]. Then He broke them and gave them to the disciples to place before the multitude.

    ¹⁷And all the people ate and were satisfied. And they gathered up what remained over--twelve [^[w]small hand] baskets of broken pieces.

    ¹⁸Now it occurred that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, Who do men say that I am?

    ¹⁹And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.

    ²⁰And He said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? And Peter replied, The Christ of God!

    ²¹But He strictly charged and sharply commanded them [^[x]under penalty] to tell this to no one [no one, ^[y]whoever he might be],

    ²²Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things and be [^[z]deliberately] disapproved and repudiated and rejected on the part of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death and on the third day be raised [again].

    ²³And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [^[aa]disown himself, ^[ab]forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, ^[ac]refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [^[ad]cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].

    ²⁴For whoever would preserve his life and save it will lose and destroy it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he will preserve and save it [^[ae]from the penalty of eternal death].

    ²⁵For what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and ruins or forfeits (loses) himself?

    ²⁶Because whoever is ashamed of Me and of My teachings, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when He comes in the [^[af]threefold] glory (the splendor and majesty) of Himself and of the Father and of the holy angels.

    ²⁷However I tell you truly, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.

    ²⁸Now about eight days after these teachings, Jesus took with Him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.

    ²⁹And as He was praying, the appearance of His countenance became altered (different), and His raiment became dazzling white [^[ag]flashing with the brilliance of lightning].

    ³⁰And behold, two men were conversing with Him--Moses and Elijah,

    ³¹Who appeared in splendor and majesty and brightness and were speaking of His exit [from life], which He was about to bring to realization at Jerusalem.

    ³²Now Peter and those with him were weighed down with sleep, but when they fully awoke, they saw His glory (splendor and majesty and brightness) and the two men who stood with Him.

    ³³And it occurred as the men were parting from Him that Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is delightful and good that we are here; and let us construct three booths or huts--one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah! not noticing or knowing what he was saying.

    ³⁴But even as he was saying this, a cloud came and began to overshadow them, and they were seized with alarm and struck with fear as they entered into the cloud.

    ³⁵Then there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, My Chosen One or ^[ah]My Beloved; listen to and yield to and obey Him!

    ³⁶And when the voice had died away, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept still, and told no one at that time any of these things that they had seen.

    ³⁷Now it occurred the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.

    ³⁸And behold, a man from the crowd shouted out, Master, I implore You to look at my son, for he is my only child;

    ³⁹And behold, a spirit seizes him and suddenly he cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and he is sorely shattered, and it will scarcely leave him.

    ⁴⁰And I implored Your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.

    ⁴¹Jesus answered, O [faithless ones] unbelieving and without trust in God, a perverse (^[ai]wayward, ^[aj]crooked and ^[ak]warped) generation! Until when and how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here [to Me].

    ⁴²And even while he was coming, the demon threw him down and [completely] convulsed him. But Jesus censured and severely rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the child and restored him to his father.

    ⁴³And all were astounded at the evidence of God's mighty power and His majesty and magnificence. But [while] they were all marveling at everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,

    ⁴⁴Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men [^[al]whose conduct is opposed to God].

    ⁴⁵However, they did not comprehend this saying; and it was kept hidden from them, so that they should not grasp it and understand, and they were afraid to ask Him about the statement.

    ⁴⁶But a controversy arose among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in excellence, worth, and authority].

    ⁴⁷But Jesus, as He perceived the thoughts of their hearts, took a little child and put him at His side

    ⁴⁸And told them, Whoever receives and accepts and welcomes this child in My name and for My sake receives and accepts and welcomes Me; and whoever so receives Me so also receives Him Who sent Me. For he who is least and lowliest among you all--he is [the one who is truly] great.

    ⁴⁹John said, Master, we saw a man driving out demons in Your name and we commanded him to stop it, for he does not follow along with us.

    ⁵⁰But Jesus told him, Do not forbid [such people]; for whoever is not against you is for you.

    ⁵¹Now when the time was almost come for Jesus to be received up [to heaven], He steadfastly and determinedly set His face to go to Jerusalem.

    ⁵²And He sent messengers before Him; and they reached and entered a Samaritan village to make [things] ready for Him;

    ⁵³But [the people] would not welcome or receive or accept Him, because His face was [set as if He was] going to Jerusalem.

    ⁵⁴And when His disciples James and John observed this, they said, Lord, do You wish us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, ^[am]even as Elijah did ? [II Kings 1:9-16.]

    ⁵⁵But He turned and rebuked and severely censured them. ^[an]He said, You do not know of what sort of spirit you are,

    ⁵⁶For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them ^[ao][from the penalty of eternal death]. And they journeyed on to another village.

    ⁵⁷And it occurred that as they were going along the road, a man said to Him, Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.

    ⁵⁸And Jesus told him, Foxes have lurking holes and the birds of the air have roosts and nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.

    ⁵⁹And He said to another, ^[ap]Become My disciple, side with My party, and accompany Me! But he replied, Lord, permit me first to go and bury (^[aq]await the death of) my father.

    ⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and publish abroad ^[ar]throughout all regions the kingdom of God.

    ⁶¹Another also said, I will follow You, Lord, and become Your disciple and side with Your party; but let me first say good-bye to those at my home.

    ⁶²Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.