Luke 7
English Standard Version
Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant
7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, (A)he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion[b] heard about Jesus, (B)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, (C)“He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us (D)our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, (E)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 (F)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, (G)he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such (H)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 Soon afterward[c] 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, (I)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, (J)he had compassion on her and (K)said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched (L)the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, (M)arise.” 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus[d] (N)gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized them all, and (O)they glorified God, saying, (P)“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and (Q)“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 (R)(S)The 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 the one (T)who is to come, or (U)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 (V)who is to come, or (W)shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour (X)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and (Y)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: (Z)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, (AA)lepers[e] are cleansed, and (AB)the deaf hear, (AC)the dead are raised up, (AD)the poor have good news preached to them. 23 And blessed is the one who is (AE)not offended by me.”
24 When John's messengers had gone, Jesus[f] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out (AF)into the wilderness to see? (AG)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? (AH)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
(AI)“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
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 ((AJ)When all the people heard this, and (AK)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,[g] (AL)having been baptized with (AM)the baptism of John, 30 (AN)but the Pharisees and (AO)the lawyers (AP)rejected (AQ)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,
“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come (AR)eating no bread and (AS)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come (AT)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, (AU)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet (AV)wisdom is justified by all her children.”
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 (AW)One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. 37 (AX)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 (AY)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 (AZ)this man were (BA)a prophet, he (BB)would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” 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 (BC)denarii, and the other fifty. 42 (BD)When they could not pay, he (BE)cancelled 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; (BF)you gave me no water for my feet, but (BG)she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 (BH)You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to (BI)kiss my feet. 46 (BJ)You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, (BK)which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And he said to her, (BL)“Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among[h] themselves, (BM)“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, (BN)“Your faith has saved you; (BO)go in peace.”
Luke 7
Tree of Life Version
A Centurion’s Faith at Capernaum
7 When Yeshua finished all His drash in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 Now a certain centurion had a valued slave, who was ill and about to die. 3 When he heard about Yeshua, he sent Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save his slave. 4 When they came to Yeshua, they begged Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, 5 for he loves our people and even built our synagogue.”
6 Now Yeshua started to go with them; and when He wasn’t far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to Him, “Master, do not trouble Yourself, for I’m not worthy for You to come under my roof. 7 That is why I didn’t consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word and let my servant be healed. 8 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
9 Now when Yeshua heard this, He was amazed at him. Turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
An Amazing Report Spreads throughout all Judea
11 The next day Yeshua traveled to a town called Nain, and coming along with Him were His disciples and a large crowd. 12 Just as He came near the town gate, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, a widow. A considerable crowd from the town was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said, “Don’t cry.” 14 Then He came up and touched the coffin, and the pallbearers came to a standstill. He said, “Young man! I tell you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began speaking, and Yeshua gave him to his mother.[a]
16 Fear took hold of them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us, and God has visited His people.” 17 This report concerning Him spread throughout all Judea and the surrounding region.
John Seeks Confirmation from Prison
18 John’s disciples reported to him about all these things. Calling two of his disciples, 19 John sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?”
20 When they appeared before Him, the men said, “John the Immerser sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the One who is to come, or shall we look for another?’”
21 At this very hour He was healing many of diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits; and He granted sight to many who were blind. 22 And answering, He said to them, “Go report to John what you saw and heard: the blind see, the lame walk, those with tzara’at are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them. [b] 23 Blessed is he who is not led to stumble because of Me.”
24 And after John’s messengers left, He began to speak about John to the crowds. “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 No? So what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine garments? Look, those who wear finery and live in luxury are in the palaces of kings! 26 Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, even more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written,
‘Behold, I send My messenger before You,
who will prepare Your way before You.’[c]
28 I say to you, there is no one greater than John among those born of women; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 And when all the people heard, even the tax collectors, they affirmed God’s justice, because they had been immersed with John’s immersion. 30 But the Pharisees and Torah lawyers, not having been immersed by John, declared God’s purpose invalid for themselves.
31 “So then, to what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to each other, saying,
‘We played the flute for you,
and you didn’t dance.
We sang a dirge, and you didn’t weep.’
33 “For John the Immerser has come not eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking. and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
An Unwelcome Woman Finds Favor
36 Now one of the Pharisees was asking Yeshua if He would eat with him. Upon entering the Pharisee’s home, He reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she discovered that Yeshua was reclining at the Pharisee’s home, brought an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to drench His feet with tears and kept wiping them with her head of hair. Then she was kissing His feet and anointing them with perfume.
39 Now when the Pharisee who invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this were a prophet, He would know what sort of woman is touching Him—that she’s a sinner.”
40 And answering, Yeshua said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
And he said, “Say it, Teacher!”
41 “A moneylender had two debtors. One owed him five hundred denarii,[d] but the other fifty. 42 When neither could repay him, he canceled both debts. So which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”
“You have judged correctly,” Yeshua said. 44 Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house, and you didn’t give Me water for My feet. But she has drenched My feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. [e] 45 You didn’t greet Me with a kiss; but from the time she entered, she has not stopped kissing My feet. 46 You didn’t anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I tell you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven—for she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little. 48 He then said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
49 But those who were reclining at table with Him began to say to one another, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in shalom.”
Footnotes
- Luke 7:15 1 Kings 17:23.
- Luke 7:23 Isa. 35:5-6; 61:1-2a.
- Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1.
- Luke 7:41 1 denarius = 1 day’s wage.
- Luke 7:45 cf. Gen. 18:4-8.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.