Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by ^(A)the lake of Gennesaret, ^2 (B)and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were ^(C)washing their nets. ³ Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And ^(D)he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^(E)“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ And Simon answered, “Master, ^(F)we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(G)they enclosed a large number of fish, and ^(H)their nets were breaking. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. ^(I)And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, ^(J)“Depart from me, for ^(K)I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”^{[a] 11} And when they had brought their boats to land, ^(L)they left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

^40 (A)And a leper^[a] came to him, imploring him, and ^(B)kneeling said to him, ^(C)“If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ And ^(D)Jesus^[b] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, ^(E)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(F)show yourself to the priest and ^(G)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^(H)for a proof to them.” ^45 (I)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^(J)a town, but was out in ^(K)desolate places, and ^(L)people were coming to him from every quarter.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

8 When he came down from the mountain, ^(A)great crowds followed him. ^2 (B)And behold, a leper^[a] came to him and ^(C)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³ And Jesus^[b] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. ⁴ And Jesus said to him, ^(D)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^(E)show yourself to the priest and ^(F)offer the gift that Moses commanded, ^(G)for a proof to them.”

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

¹² While he was in one of the cities, ^(A)there came a man full of leprosy.^[a] And when he saw Jesus, he ^(B)fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, ^(C)if you will, you can make me clean.” ¹³ And Jesus^[b] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And he charged him ^(D)to tell no one, but “go and show ^(E)yourself to the priest, and ^(F)make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ^(G)for a proof to them.” ^15 (H)But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. ¹⁶ But ^(I)he would withdraw to desolate places and ^(J)pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

2 And when he returned to ^(A)Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. ^3 (B)And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^(C)they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And when Jesus ^(D)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^(E)your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? ^(F)He is blaspheming! ^(G)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, ^(H)perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that ^(I)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” ¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^(J)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

9 And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^(A)his own city. ^2 (B)And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^(C)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^(D)“Take heart, my son; ^(E)your sins are forgiven.” ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^(F)“This man is blaspheming.” ⁴ But Jesus, ^(G)knowing^[a] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ⁷ And he rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, ^(H)they were afraid, and ^(I)they glorified God, who had ^(J)given such authority to men.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and ^(A)teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And ^(B)the power of the Lord was with him to heal.^{[a] 18 (C)}And behold, some men were bringing ^(D)on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, ¹⁹ but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on ^(E)the roof and let him down with his bed ^(F)through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. ²⁰ And ^(G)when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^(H)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^(I)blasphemies? ^(J)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² When Jesus ^(K)perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that ^(L)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” ²⁵ And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, ^(M)glorifying God. ²⁶ And amazement seized them all, and they ^(N)glorified God and were filled ^(O)with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

¹³ He went out again beside the sea, and ^(A)all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. ^14 (B)And as he passed by, he saw ^(C)Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^(D)tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. ¹⁶ And ^(E)the scribes of^[a] the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^(F)“Why does he eat^[b] with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^(G)I came not to call the righteous, ^(H)but sinners.”

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9 (A)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^(B)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus^[a] reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^(C)tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ^(D)“Why does your teacher eat with ^(E)tax collectors and sinners?” ¹² But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn ^(F)what this means: ^(G)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For ^(H)I came not to call the righteous, ^(I)but sinners.”