Dedication to Theophilus

1 Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that ^(A)have been accomplished among us, ^2 (B)just as those who ^(C)from the beginning were ^(D)eyewitnesses and ^(E)ministers of ^(F)the word ^(G)have delivered them to us, ³ it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write ^(H)an orderly account for you, ^(I)most excellent ^(J)Theophilus, ⁴ that you may have ^(K)certainty concerning the things ^(L)you have been taught.

Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

^5 (M)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,^{[a] (N)}of ^(O)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ And they were both ^(P)righteous before God, walking ^(Q)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. ⁷ But they had no child, because ^(R)Elizabeth was barren, and ^(S)both were advanced in years.

⁸ Now ^(T)while he was serving as priest before God when ^(U)his division was on duty, ⁹ according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot ^(V)to enter ^(W)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people ^(X)were praying ^(Y)outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹ And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of ^(Z)the altar of incense. ¹² And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and ^(AA)fear fell upon him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for ^(AB)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(AC)you shall call his name John. ¹⁴ And you will have joy and gladness, and many will ^(AD)rejoice at his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be ^(AE)great before the Lord. And ^(AF)he must not drink wine or strong ^(AG)drink, and ^(AH)he will be ^(AI)filled with the Holy Spirit, ^(AJ)even from his mother's womb. ¹⁶ And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, ¹⁷ and ^(AK)he will go before him ^(AL)in the spirit and power of Elijah, ^(AM)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and ^(AN)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, ^(AO)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

¹⁸ And Zechariah said to the angel, ^(AP)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ¹⁹ And the angel answered him, “I am ^(AQ)Gabriel. ^(AR)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, ^(AS)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” ²¹ And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in ^(AT)the temple. ²² And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in ^(AU)the temple. And ^(AV)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. ²³ And ^(AW)when his time of ^(AX)service was ended, he went to his home.

²⁴ After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, ²⁵ “Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, ^(AY)to take away my reproach among people.”

Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel ^(AZ)Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named ^(BA)Nazareth, ^27 (BB)to a virgin betrothed^[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(BC)of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸ And he came to her and said, “Greetings, ^(BD)O favored one, ^(BE)the Lord is with you!”^{[c] 29} But ^(BF)she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for ^(BG)you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, ^(BH)you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and ^(BI)you shall call his name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(BJ)the Most High. And the Lord God ^(BK)will give to him the throne of ^(BL)his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob ^(BM)forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

³⁴ And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”^[d]

³⁵ And the angel answered her, ^(BN)“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(BO)the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[e] will be called ^(BP)holy—^(BQ)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her ^(BR)who was called barren. ³⁷ For ^(BS)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant^[f] of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And ^(BT)the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary arose and went with haste into ^(BU)the hill country, to a town in Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth ^(BV)was filled with the Holy Spirit, ⁴² and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ^(BW)“Blessed are you among women, and ^(BX)blessed is ^(BY)the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And why is this granted to me that the mother of ^(BZ)my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(CA)blessed is she who believed that there would be^[g] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Mary's Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said,

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord ^(CY)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹ And ^(CZ)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰ but his mother answered, “No; ^(DA)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶² And ^(DB)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³ And he asked for ^(DC)a writing tablet and wrote, ^(DD)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. ^64 (DE)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue ^(DF)loosed, and he spoke, ^(DG)blessing God. ⁶⁵ And ^(DH)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all ^(DI)the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶ and all who heard them ^(DJ)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For ^(DK)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(DL)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(DM)prophesied, saying,

^80 (EQ)And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was ^(ER)in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

2 In those days ^(ES)a decree went out from ^(ET)Caesar Augustus that all the world should be ^(EU)registered. ² This was the first ^(EV)registration when^[i] Quirinius ^(EW)was governor of Syria. ³ And all went to be registered, each to his own town. ⁴ And Joseph also went up ^(EX)from Galilee, from the town of ^(EY)Nazareth, to Judea, to ^(EZ)the city of David, which is called ^(FA)Bethlehem, ^(FB)because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[j] who was with child. ⁶ And ^(FC)while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and ^(FD)wrapped him in swaddling cloths and ^(FE)laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in ^(FF)the inn.^[k]

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord ^(FG)appeared to them, and ^(FH)the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all ^(FI)the people. ¹¹ For ^(FJ)unto you is born this day in ^(FK)the city of David ^(FL)a Savior, who is ^(FM)Christ ^(FN)the Lord. ¹² And ^(FO)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby ^(FP)wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel ^(FQ)a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby ^(FW)lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. ¹⁹ But ^(FX)Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, ^(FY)glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

²¹ And ^(FZ)at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, ^(GA)he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²² And ^(GB)when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem ^(GC)to present him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in ^(GD)the Law of the Lord, ^(GE)“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in ^(GF)the Law of the Lord, ^(GG)“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” ²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was ^(GH)righteous and ^(GI)devout, ^(GJ)waiting for ^(GK)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(GL)see death before he had seen ^(GM)the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when ^(GN)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, ²⁸ he took him up in his arms and ^(GO)blessed God and said,

³³ And ^(GX)his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed ^(GY)for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign ^(GZ)that is opposed ³⁵ (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was ^(HA)a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, ³⁷ and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.^[n] She did not depart from the temple, ^(HB)worshiping with ^(HC)fasting and prayer night and day. ³⁸ And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were ^(HD)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when they had performed everything according to ^(HE)the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of ^(HF)Nazareth. ^40 (HG)And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ Now ^(HH)his parents went ^(HI)to Jerusalem every year at ^(HJ)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, ^(HK)they went up according to custom. ⁴³ And when the feast ^(HL)was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. ^(HM)His parents did not know it, ⁴⁴ but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, ⁴⁵ and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, ^(HN)sitting among ^(HO)the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸ And when his parents^[o] saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, ^(HP)your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” ⁴⁹ And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that ^(HQ)I must be in ^(HR)my Father's house?”^{[p] 50} And ^(HS)they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And ^(HT)his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus ^(HU)increased in wisdom and in stature^[q] and in ^(HV)favor with God and man.

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of ^(HW)Tiberius Caesar, ^(HX)Pontius Pilate ^(HY)being governor of Judea, and ^(HZ)Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, ² during ^(IA)the high priesthood of Annas and ^(IB)Caiaphas, ^(IC)the word of God came to ^(ID)John the son of Zechariah in ^(IE)the wilderness. ³ And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming ^(IF)a baptism of repentance ^(IG)for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in ^(IH)the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

⁷ He said therefore to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ^(IP)“You brood of ^(IQ)vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(IR)the wrath to come? ⁸ Bear fruits ^(IS)in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ^(IT)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from ^(IU)these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. ^(IV)Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, ^(IW)“What then shall we do?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(IX)“Whoever has two tunics^[s] is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” ^12 (IY)Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, ^(IZ)what shall we do?” ¹³ And he said to them, ^(JA)“Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” ¹⁴ Soldiers also asked him, “And we, ^(JB)what shall we do?” And he said to them, ^(JC)“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your ^(JD)wages.”

¹⁵ As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, ^(JE)whether he might be ^(JF)the Christ, ^16 (JG)John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but ^(JH)he who is mightier than I is coming, ^(JI)the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you ^(JJ)with the Holy Spirit and ^(JK)fire. ¹⁷ His ^(JL)winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to ^(JM)gather the wheat into his barn, ^(JN)but the chaff he will burn with ^(JO)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So ^(JP)with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. ¹⁹ But ^(JQ)Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him for Herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evil things that Herod had done, ²⁰ added this to them all, that ^(JR)he locked up John in prison.

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized, and when ^(JS)Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, ^(JT)the heavens were opened, ²² and ^(JU)the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and ^(JV)a voice came from heaven, ^(JW)“You are my beloved Son;^[t] with you I am well pleased.”^[u]

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

²³ Jesus, ^(JX)when he began his ministry, was about ^(JY)thirty years of age, being ^(JZ)the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(KA)the son of Zerubbabel, the son ^(KB)of Shealtiel,^[v] the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of ^(KC)Nathan, the son of David, ^32 (KD)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ^34 (KE)the son of Jacob, ^(KF)the son of Isaac, ^(KG)the son of Abraham, ^(KH)the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(KI)And Jesus, ^(KJ)full of the Holy Spirit, ^(KK)returned from the Jordan and was led ^(KL)by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for ^(KM)forty days, ^(KN)being tempted by the devil. ^(KO)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, ^(KP)he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are ^(KQ)the Son of God, command ^(KR)this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, ^(KS)“It is written, ^(KT)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” ^5 (KU)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, ⁶ and said to him, “To you ^(KV)I will give all this authority and their glory, ^(KW)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ And Jesus answered him, ^(KX)“It is written,

^9 (LA)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are ^(LB)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written,

¹¹ and

¹² And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ^(LE)‘You shall not ^(LF)put the Lord your God to the test.’” ¹³ And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him ^(LG)until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

^14 (LH)And Jesus returned ^(LI)in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and ^(LJ)a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. ¹⁵ And ^(LK)he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

^16 (LL)And he came to ^(LM)Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And ^(LN)as was his custom, ^(LO)he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up ^(LP)to read. ¹⁷ And ^(LQ)the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and ^(LY)sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were ^(LZ)fixed on him. ²¹ And he began to say to them, “Today ^(MA)this Scripture ^(MB)has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² And all spoke well of him and marveled at ^(MC)the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, ^(MD)“Is not this ^(ME)Joseph's son?” ²³ And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ^(MF)‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did ^(MG)at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ And he said, “Truly, I say to you, ^(MH)no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. ²⁵ But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when ^(MI)the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, ²⁶ and Elijah was sent to none of them ^(MJ)but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And ^(MK)there were many lepers^[w] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, ^(ML)but only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. ²⁹ And they rose up and ^(MM)drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. ³⁰ But ^(MN)passing through their midst, he went away.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Demon

^31 (MO)And he ^(MP)went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And ^(MQ)he was teaching them ^(MR)on the Sabbath, ³² and ^(MS)they were astonished at his teaching, ^(MT)for his word possessed authority. ³³ And ^(MU)in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Ha!^{[x] (MV)}What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^(MW)I know who you are—^(MX)the Holy One of God.” ³⁵ But Jesus ^(MY)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. ³⁶ And ^(MZ)they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? ^(NA)For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And ^(NB)reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Jesus Heals Many

^38 (NC)And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now ^(ND)Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. ³⁹ And he stood over her and ^(NE)rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

⁴⁰ Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and ^(NF)he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. ^41 (NG)And demons also came out of many, ^(NH)crying, “You are ^(NI)the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and ^(NJ)would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was ^(NK)the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Synagogues

^42 (NL)And when it was day, he departed and went ^(NM)into a desolate place. And ^(NN)the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, ⁴³ but he said to them, ^(NO)“I must ^(NP)preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴ And he was preaching ^(NQ)in the synagogues of Judea.^[y]

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 ^(NR)the lake of Gennesaret, ^2 (NS)and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were ^(NT)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 ^(NU)he sat down and taught the people from the boat. ⁴ And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ^(NV)“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ And Simon answered, “Master, ^(NW)we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(NX)they enclosed a large number of fish, and ^(NY)their nets were breaking. ⁷ They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. ^(NZ)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, ^(OA)“Depart from me, for ^(OB)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.”^{[z] 11} And when they had brought their boats to land, ^(OC)they left everything and followed him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

¹² While he was in one of the cities, ^(OD)there came a man full of leprosy.^[aa] And when he saw Jesus, he ^(OE)fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, ^(OF)if you will, you can make me clean.” ¹³ And Jesus^[ab] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And he charged him ^(OG)to tell no one, but “go and show ^(OH)yourself to the priest, and ^(OI)make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ^(OJ)for a proof to them.” ^15 (OK)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 ^(OL)he would withdraw to desolate places and ^(OM)pray.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and ^(ON)teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And ^(OO)the power of the Lord was with him to heal.^{[ac] 18 (OP)}And behold, some men were bringing ^(OQ)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 ^(OR)the roof and let him down with his bed ^(OS)through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. ²⁰ And ^(OT)when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, ^(OU)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks ^(OV)blasphemies? ^(OW)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ²² When Jesus ^(OX)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 ^(OY)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, ^(OZ)glorifying God. ²⁶ And amazement seized them all, and they ^(PA)glorified God and were filled ^(PB)with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

^27 (PC)After this he went out and saw ^(PD)a tax collector named ^(PE)Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁸ And ^(PF)leaving everything, he rose and followed him.

²⁹ And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company ^(PG)of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. ³⁰ And the Pharisees and ^(PH)their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, ^(PI)“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^32 (PJ)I have not come to call the righteous ^(PK)but sinners ^(PL)to repentance.”

A Question About Fasting

³³ And they said to him, ^(PM)“The disciples of John ^(PN)fast often and ^(PO)offer prayers, ^(PP)and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, ^(PQ)“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? ^35 (PR)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(PS)then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.