Luke 7
New King James Version
Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant(A)
7 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He (B)entered Capernaum. 2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 5 “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
6 Then Jesus went with them. And when He was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not even think myself worthy to come to You. But (C)say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under (D)authority, having 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 turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” 10 And those who were sent, returning to the house, found the servant well [a]who had been sick.
Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain
11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had (E)compassion on her and said to her, (F)“Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, (G)arise.” 15 So he who was dead (H)sat up and began to speak. And He (I)presented him to his mother.
16 (J)Then fear [b]came upon all, and they (K)glorified God, saying, (L)“A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, (M)“God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
John the Baptist Sends Messengers to Jesus(N)
18 (O)Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to [c]Jesus, saying, “Are You (P)the Coming One, or [d]do we look for another?”
20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ” 21 And that very hour He cured many of [e]infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.
22 (Q)Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: (R)that the blind (S)see, the lame (T)walk, the lepers are (U)cleansed, the deaf (V)hear, the dead are raised, (W)the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not [f]offended because of Me.”
24 (X)When the messengers of John had departed, He began to speak to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed those who are gorgeously appareled and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written:
(Y)‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before You.’
28 For I say to you, among those born of women there is [g]not a (Z)greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
29 And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors [h]justified God, (AA)having been baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and [i]lawyers rejected (AB)the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
31 [j]And the Lord said, (AC)“To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying:
‘We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not weep.’
33 For (AD)John the Baptist came (AE)neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come (AF)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a [k]winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 (AG)But wisdom is justified by all her children.”
A Sinful Woman Forgiven
36 (AH)Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat. 37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, 38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, (AI)“This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”
40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
So he said, “Teacher, say it.”
41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred (AJ)denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”
And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no (AK)water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no (AL)kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 (AM)You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 (AN)Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
48 Then He said to her, (AO)“Your sins are forgiven.”
49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, (AP)“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Then He said to the woman, (AQ)“Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Footnotes
- Luke 7:10 NU omits who had been sick
- Luke 7:16 seized them all
- Luke 7:19 NU the Lord
- Luke 7:19 should we expect
- Luke 7:21 illnesses
- Luke 7:23 caused to stumble
- Luke 7:28 NU none greater than John;
- Luke 7:29 declared the righteousness of
- Luke 7:30 the experts in the law
- Luke 7:31 NU, M omit And the Lord said
- Luke 7:34 An excessive drinker
Luke 7
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Heals an Officer’s Servant(A)
7 Jesus finished saying all these things to the people. Then he went into Capernaum. 2 In Capernaum there was an army officer. He had a servant who was very sick; he was near death. The officer loved the servant very much. 3 When he heard about Jesus, he sent some older Jewish leaders to him. He wanted the men to ask Jesus to come and save the life of his servant. 4 The men went to Jesus. They begged Jesus to help the officer. They said, “This officer is worthy to have your help. 5 He loves our people and he built the synagogue for us.”
6 So Jesus went with them. He was coming near the officer’s house when the officer sent friends to say, “Lord, you don’t need to do anything special for me. I am not good enough for you to come into my house. 7 That is why I did not come to you myself. You need only to give the order, and my servant will be healed. 8 I know this because I am a man under the authority of other men. And I have soldiers under my authority. I tell one soldier, ‘Go,’ and he goes. And I tell another soldier, ‘Come,’ and he comes. And I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and my servant obeys me.”
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He turned to the people following him and said, “I tell you, this is the most faith I have seen anywhere, even in Israel.”
10 The group that was sent to Jesus went back to the house. There they found that the servant was healed.
Jesus Brings a Woman’s Son Back to Life
11 The next day Jesus and his followers went to a town called Nain. A big crowd was traveling with them. 12 When Jesus came near the town gate, he saw some people carrying a dead body. It was the only son of a woman who was a widow. Walking with her were many other people from the town. 13 When the Lord saw the woman, he felt very sorry for her and said, “Don’t cry.” 14 He walked to the open coffin and touched it. The men who were carrying the coffin stopped. Jesus spoke to the dead son: “Young man, I tell you, get up!” 15 Then the boy sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 Everyone was filled with fear. They began praising God and said, “A great prophet is here with us!” and “God is taking care of his people.”
17 This news about Jesus spread all over Judea and to all the other places around there.
John Sends Men to Ask Jesus a Question(B)
18 John’s followers told him about all these things. John called for two of his followers. 19 He sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one we heard was coming, or should we wait for someone else?”
20 So the men came to Jesus. They said, “John the Baptizer sent us to you with this question: ‘Are you the one who is coming, or should we wait for someone else?’”
21 Right then Jesus healed many people of their sicknesses and diseases. He healed those who had evil spirits and made many who were blind able to see again. 22 Then he said to John’s followers, “Go tell John what you have seen and heard: The blind can see. The crippled can walk. People with leprosy are healed. The deaf can hear. The dead are brought back to life. And the Good News is being told to the poor. 23 Great blessings belong to those who don’t have a problem accepting me.”
24 When John’s followers left, Jesus began talking to the people about John: “What did you people go out into the desert to see? Someone who is weak, like a stem of grass[a] blowing in the wind? 25 Really, what did you expect to see? Someone dressed in fine clothes? Of course not. People who wear fancy clothes and live in luxury are all in kings’ palaces. 26 So what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, John is a prophet. But I tell you, he is more than that. 27 This Scripture was written about him:
‘Listen! I will send my messenger ahead of you.
He will prepare the way for you.’ (C)
28 I tell you, no one ever born is greater than John. But even the least important person in God’s kingdom is greater than John.”
29 (When the people heard this, they all agreed that God’s teaching was good. Even the tax collectors agreed. These were the people who were baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law refused to accept God’s plan for themselves; they did not let John baptize them.)
31 “What shall I say about the people of this time? What can I compare them to? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group of children calls to the other children and says,
‘We played flute music for you,
but you did not dance;
we sang a sad song,
but you did not cry.’
33 John the Baptizer came and did not eat the usual food or drink wine. And you say, ‘He has a demon inside him.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking. And you say, ‘Look at him! He eats too much and drinks too much wine! He is a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is shown to be right by those who accept it.”
Simon the Pharisee
36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. Jesus went into the Pharisee’s house and took a place at the table.
37 There was a sinful woman in that town. She knew that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So the woman brought some expensive perfume in an alabaster jar. 38 She stood at Jesus’ feet, crying. Then she began to wash his feet with her tears. She dried his feet with her hair. She kissed his feet many times and rubbed them with the perfume.
39 When the Pharisee who asked Jesus to come to his house saw this, he thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet,[b] he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner!”
40 In response, Jesus said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”
Simon said, “Let me hear it, Teacher.”
41 Jesus said, “There were two men. Both men owed money to the same banker. One man owed him 500 silver coins. The other man owed him 50 silver coins. 42 The men had no money, so they could not pay their debt. But the banker told the men that they did not have to pay him. Which one of those two men will love him more?”
43 Simon answered, “I think it would be the one who owed him the most money.”
Jesus said to him, “You are right.” 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? When I came into your house, you gave me no water for my feet. But she washed my feet with her tears and dried my feet with her hair. 45 You did not greet me with a kiss, but she has been kissing my feet since I came in. 46 You did not honor me with oil for my head, but she rubbed my feet with her sweet-smelling oil. 47 I tell you that her many sins are forgiven. This is clear, because she showed great love. People who are forgiven only a little will love only a little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The people sitting at the table began to think to themselves, “Who does this man think he is? How can he forgive sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International