Luke 9
Young's Literal Translation
9 And having called together his twelve disciples, he gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to cure sicknesses,
2 and he sent them to proclaim the reign of God, and to heal the ailing.
3 And he said unto them, `Take nothing for the way, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money; neither have two coats each;
4 and into whatever house ye may enter, there remain, and thence depart;
5 and as many as may not receive you, going forth from that city, even the dust from your feet shake off, for a testimony against them.'
6 And going forth they were going through the several villages, proclaiming good news, and healing everywhere.
7 And Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things being done by him, and was perplexed, because it was said by certain, that John hath been raised out of the dead;
8 and by certain, that Elijah did appear, and by others, that a prophet, one of the ancients, was risen;
9 and Herod said, `John I did behead, but who is this concerning whom I hear such things?' and he was seeking to see him.
10 And the apostles having turned back, declared to him how great things they did, and having taken them, he withdrew by himself to a desert place of a city called Bethsaida,
11 and the multitudes having known did follow him, and having received them, he was speaking to them concerning the reign of God, and those having need of service he cured.
12 And the day began to decline, and the twelve having come near, said to him, `Let away the multitude, that having gone to the villages and the fields round about, they may lodge and may find provision, because here we are in a desert place.'
13 And he said unto them, `Give ye them to eat;' and they said, `We have no more than five loaves, and two fishes: except, having gone, we may buy for all this people victuals;'
14 for they were about five thousand men. And he said unto his disciples, `Cause them to recline in companies, in each fifty;'
15 and they did so, and made all to recline;
16 and having taken the five loaves, and the two fishes, having looked up to the heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and was giving to the disciples to set before the multitude;
17 and they did eat, and were all filled, and there was taken up what was over to them of broken pieces, twelve baskets.
18 And it came to pass, as he is praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he questioned them, saying, `Who do the multitudes say me to be?'
19 And they answering said, `John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and others, that a prophet, one of the ancients, was risen;'
20 and he said to them, `And ye -- who do ye say me to be?' and Peter answering said, `The Christ of God.'
21 And having charged them, he commanded [them] to say this to no one,
22 saying -- `It behoveth the Son of Man to suffer many things, and to be rejected by the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be killed, and the third day to be raised.'
23 And he said unto all, `If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me;
24 for whoever may will to save his life, shall lose it, and whoever may lose his life for my sake, he shall save it;
25 for what is a man profited, having gained the whole world, and having lost or having forfeited himself?
26 `For whoever may be ashamed of me, and of my words, of this one shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he may come in his glory, and the Father's, and the holy messengers';
27 and I say to you, truly, there are certain of those here standing, who shall not taste of death till they may see the reign of God.'
28 And it came to pass, after these words, as it were eight days, that having taken Peter, and John, and James, he went up to the mountain to pray,
29 and it came to pass, in his praying, the appearance of his face became altered, and his garment white -- sparkling.
30 And lo, two men were speaking together with him, who were Moses and Elijah,
31 who having appeared in glory, spake of his outgoing that he was about to fulfil in Jerusalem,
32 but Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep, and having waked, they saw his glory, and the two men standing with him.
33 And it came to pass, in their parting from him, Peter said unto Jesus, `Master, it is good to us to be here; and we may make three booths, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah,' not knowing what he saith:
34 and as he was speaking these things, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them, and they feared in their entering into the cloud,
35 and a voice came out of the cloud saying, `This is My Son -- the Beloved; hear ye him;'
36 and when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone; and they were silent, and declared to no one in those days anything of what they have seen.
37 And it came to pass on the next day, they having come down from the mount, there met him a great multitude,
38 and lo, a man from the multitude cried out, saying, `Teacher, I beseech thee, look upon my son, because he is my only begotten;
39 and lo, a spirit doth take him, and suddenly he doth cry out, and it teareth him, with foaming, and it hardly departeth from him, bruising him,
40 and I besought thy disciples that they might cast it out, and they were not able.'
41 And Jesus answering said, `O generation, unstedfast and perverse, till when shall I be with you, and suffer you? bring near hither thy son;'
42 and as he is yet coming near, the demon rent him, and tore [him] sore, and Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the youth, and gave him back to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God, and while all are wondering at all things that Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
44 `Lay ye to your ears these words, for the Son of Man is about to be delivered up to the hands of men.'
45 And they were not knowing this saying, and it was veiled from them, that they might not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
46 And there entered a reasoning among them, this, Who may be greater of them?
47 and Jesus having seen the reasoning of their heart, having taken hold of a child, set him beside himself,
48 and said to them, `Whoever may receive this child in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may receive me, doth receive Him who sent me, for he who is least among you all -- he shall be great.'
49 And John answering said, `Master, we saw a certain one in thy name casting forth the demons, and we forbade him, because he doth not follow with us;'
50 and Jesus said unto him, `Forbid not, for he who is not against us, is for us.'
51 And it came to pass, in the completing of the days of his being taken up, that he fixed his face to go on to Jerusalem,
52 and he sent messengers before his face, and having gone on, they went into a village of Samaritans, to make ready for him,
53 and they did not receive him, because his face was going on to Jerusalem.
54 And his disciples James and John having seen, said, `Sir, wilt thou [that] we may command fire to come down from the heaven, and to consume them, as also Elijah did?'
55 and having turned, he rebuked them, and said, `Ye have not known of what spirit ye are;
56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save;' and they went on to another village.
57 And it came to pass, as they are going on in the way, a certain one said unto him, `I will follow thee wherever thou mayest go, sir;'
58 and Jesus said to him, `The foxes have holes, and the fowls of the heaven places of rest, but the Son of Man hath not where he may recline the head.'
59 And he said unto another, `Be following me;' and he said, `Sir, permit me, having gone away, first to bury my father;'
60 and Jesus said to him, `Suffer the dead to bury their own dead, and thou, having gone away, publish the reign of God.'
61 And another also said, `I will follow thee, sir, but first permit me to take leave of those in my house;'
62 and Jesus said unto him, `No one having put his hand on a plough, and looking back, is fit for the reign of God.'
Luke 9
Amplified Bible
Ministry of the Twelve
9 Now Jesus called together the twelve [disciples] and gave them [the right to exercise] power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 Then He sent them out [on a brief journey] to preach [a]the kingdom of God and to perform healing.(A) 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey [that might encumber you]—neither a walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two [b]tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city [to go to another]. 5 And as for all those who do not welcome you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet [breaking all ties with them] as a testimony against them [that they rejected My message].” 6 So they began going from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing the sick everywhere.
7 Now Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch [who governed a portion of Palestine including Galilee and Perea] heard about all that was being done [by Jesus], and he was thoroughly perplexed, because it was said by some that John [the Baptist whom he had ordered beheaded] had been raised from the dead,(B) 8 and by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the [other] prophets of old had been resurrected. 9 Herod said, “I personally had John beheaded. Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
10 When the apostles returned, they told Him all that they had done. He took them with Him and He privately withdrew [across the Jordan] to a city called Bethsaida.(C) 11 But when the crowds learned of it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them and He began talking to them about the kingdom of God, and healing those who needed to be healed.
Five Thousand Fed
12 Now the day was ending, and the twelve [disciples] came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging, and get provisions; because here we are in an isolated place.” 13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”(D) 14 (For there were [c]about 5,000 men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 They all ate and were [completely] satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were [abundant and were] picked up—twelve baskets full.
18 Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”(E) 19 They answered, “John the Baptist, and some say, Elijah; but others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” 20 And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!” 21 But He strictly warned and admonished them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be put to death, and on the third day be raised up [from death to life].”(F)
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the [heavenly] Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truthfully, there are [d]some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these teachings, He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.(G) 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then [e]a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].(H)
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.(I) 38 And a man from the crowd shouted for help, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only child; 39 and a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into a convulsion so that he foams at the mouth; and only with [great] difficulty does it leave him, mauling and bruising him as it leaves. 40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon slammed him down and threw him into a [violent] convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.(J)
But while they were still awed by everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies].” 45 However, they did not understand this statement. Its meaning was kept hidden from them so that they would not grasp it; and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
The Test of Greatness
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority].(K) 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and had him stand beside Him, 48 and He told them, “Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me [also] welcomes Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great.”
49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name; and we tried to stop him because he does not follow along with us.”(L) 50 But Jesus told him, “Do not stop him; for he who is not against you is for you.”(M)
51 Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up [to heaven], He was determined to go to Jerusalem [to fulfill His purpose]. 52 He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him; 53 but the people would not welcome Him, [f]because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?”(N) 55 But He turned and rebuked them [g][and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”(O) 58 And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” 59 He said to another, “Follow Me [accepting Me as Master and Teacher].” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and [h]bury my father.”(P) 60 But He said to him, “Allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and spread the news about the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord [as Your disciple]; but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- Luke 9:2 Jesus as Israel’s Messiah.
- Luke 9:3 Simple slip-on garments made with or without sleeves, usually knee length and worn as either an under or outer garment in ancient times.
- Luke 9:14 The women and children were not included in this estimate.
- Luke 9:27 Perhaps a reference to Peter, John, and James who were to witness the transfiguration a few days later.
- Luke 9:35 See note Matt 3:17.
- Luke 9:53 Because of the religious conflict between Samaritans and Jews, the people of Samaria were generally inhospitable to Jews and did not offer overnight accommodations to those who were traveling to Jerusalem to participate in religious events.
- Luke 9:55 Late mss add this to v 55 and continue into v 56.
- Luke 9:59 See note Matt 8:21.
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