Introduction

1 Since many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^[a](A)accomplished among us, ² just as they were handed down to us by those who ^(B)from the beginning ^[b]were ^(C)eyewitnesses and ^[c](D)servants of ^(E)the ^[d]word, ³ it seemed fitting to me as well, ^(F)having ^[e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^(G)in an orderly sequence, ^(H)most excellent ^(I)Theophilus; ⁴ so that you may know the exact truth about the ^[f]things you have been ^[g](J)taught.

John the Baptist’s Birth Foretold

^5 (K)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the ^(L)division of ^[h]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[i]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. ⁶ They were both ^(M)righteous in the sight of God, walking ^(N)blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. ⁷ And yet they had no child, because Elizabeth was infertile, and they were both advanced in ^[j]years.

⁸ Now it happened that while ^(O)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, ⁹ according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^(P)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. ¹⁰ And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ^(Q)outside at the hour of the incense offering. ¹¹ Now ^(R)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. ¹² Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^(S)fear ^[k]gripped him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “^(T)Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(U)you shall ^[l]name him John. ¹⁴ You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice over his birth. ¹⁵ For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ^(V)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[m]while still in his mother’s womb. ¹⁶ And he will ^(W)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And it is he who will ^(X)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ^(Y)Elijah, ^(Z)to turn the hearts of fathers back to their children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to ^(AA)make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know this? For ^(AB)I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her ^[n]years.” ¹⁹ The angel answered and said to him, “I am ^(AC)Gabriel, who ^[o](AD)stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. ²⁰ And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

²¹ And meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were wondering at his delay in the temple. ²² But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple, and he repeatedly ^(AE)[p]made signs to them, and remained speechless. ²³ When the days of his priestly service were concluded, he went back home.

²⁴ Now after these days his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and she kept herself ^[q]in seclusion for five months, saying, ²⁵ “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ^(AF)take away my disgrace among people.”

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

²⁶ Now in the sixth month the angel ^(AG)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named ^(AH)Nazareth, ²⁷ to ^(AI)a virgin ^[r]betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(AJ)of the ^[s]descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was ^[t]Mary. ²⁸ And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord ^[u]is with you.” ²⁹ But she ^(AK)was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. ³⁰ And the angel said to her, “^(AL)Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you ^(AM)shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(AN)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^(AO)the throne of His father David; ^33 (AP)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^(AQ)and His kingdom will have no end.” ³⁴ But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I ^[v]am a virgin?” ³⁵ The angel answered and said to her, “^(AR)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(AS)the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also ^(AT)the ^[w]holy Child will be called ^(AU)the Son of God. ³⁶ And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and ^[x]she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For ^(AV)nothing will be impossible with God.” ³⁸ And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ Now ^[y]at this time Mary set out and went in a hurry to ^(AW)the hill country, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was ^(AX)filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ And ^[z]how has it happened to me that the mother of ^(AY)my Lord would come to me? ⁴⁴ For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ And ^(AZ)blessed is she who ^[aa]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[ab]by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song: The Magnificat

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷ Now the time ^[aj]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^[ak](BM)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

⁵⁹ And it happened that on ^(BN)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zechariah, ^[al]after his father. ⁶⁰ And yet his mother responded and said, “No indeed; but ^(BO)he shall be called John.” ⁶¹ And they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² And they ^[am](BP)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called. ⁶³ And he asked for a tablet and wrote ^[an]as follows, “^(BQ)His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ^64 (BR)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began speaking in praise of God. ⁶⁵ And fear came on all those who lived around them; and all these matters were being talked about in ^(BS)the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, “What then will this child turn out to be?” For indeed ^(BT)the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷ And his father Zechariah ^(BU)was filled with the Holy Spirit and ^(BV)prophesied, saying:

^80 (CQ)Now the child grew and was becoming strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

2 Now in those days a decree went out from ^(CR)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^(CS)all ^[aq]the inhabited earth. ^2 [ar]This was the first census taken while ^[as]Quirinius was governor of ^(CT)Syria. ³ And all the people were on their way to register for the census, each to his own city. ⁴ Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(CU)he was of the house and family of David, ⁵ in order to register along with Mary, who was ^[at]betrothed to him, and was pregnant. ⁶ While they were there, the ^[au]time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she ^(CV)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[av]manger, because there was no ^[aw]room for them in the inn.

⁸ In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock at night. ⁹ And ^(CW)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(CX)stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. ¹⁰ And so the angel said to them, “^(CY)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ^(CZ)Savior, who is ^[ax](DA)Christ ^(DB)the Lord. ¹² And ^(DC)this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[ay]manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly ^[az]army of angels praising God and saying,

¹⁵ When the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem, then, and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[bb]manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen Him, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. ¹⁸ And all who heard it were amazed about the things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary ^(DF)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds went back, ^(DG)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

Jesus Presented at the Temple

²¹ And when ^(DH)eight days were completed ^[bc]so that it was time for His circumcision, ^(DI)He was also named Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^22 (DJ)And when the days for ^[bd]their purification according to the Law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the Law of the Lord: “^(DK)Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been stated in the Law of the Lord: “^(DL)A pair of turtledoves or two young doves.”

²⁵ And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(DM)righteous and devout, ^(DN)looking forward to the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And ^(DO)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(DP)see death before he had seen the Lord’s ^[be]Christ. ²⁷ And he came ^[bf]by the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[bg](DQ)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, ²⁸ then he took Him in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

³³ And His father and ^(DU)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them and said to ^(DV)His mother Mary, “Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(DW)the fall and ^[bi]rise of many in Israel, and as a sign to be ^[bj]opposed— ³⁵ and a sword will pierce your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

³⁶ And there was a ^(DX)prophetess, ^[bk]Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(DY)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[bl]years ^(DZ)and had lived with her husband for seven years after her ^[bm]marriage, ³⁷ and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with ^(EA)fasts and prayers. ³⁸ And at that very ^[bn]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak about Him to all those who were ^(EB)looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Return to Nazareth

³⁹ And when His parents had completed everything in accordance with the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(EC)their own city of Nazareth. ^40 (ED)Now the Child continued to grow and to become strong, ^[bo]increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him.

Visit to Jerusalem

⁴¹ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(EE)the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up there according to the custom of the feast; ⁴³ and as they were returning, after spending the ^(EF)full number of days required, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents were unaware of it. ⁴⁴ Instead, they thought that He was somewhere in the caravan, and they went a day’s journey; and then they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ And when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for Him. ⁴⁶ Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard Him ^(EG)were amazed at His understanding and His answers. ⁴⁸ When Joseph and Mary saw Him, they were bewildered; and ^(EH)His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(EI)Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You!” ⁴⁹ And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(EJ)I had to be in My Father’s ^[bp]house?” ⁵⁰ And yet ^(EK)they on their part did not understand the statement which He had ^[bq]made to them. ⁵¹ And He went down with them and came to ^(EL)Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them; and ^(EM)His mother ^(EN)treasured all these ^[br]things in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[bs]stature, and in ^(EO)favor with God and people.

John the Baptist Preaches

3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(EP)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(EQ)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, ² in the high priesthood of ^(ER)Annas and ^(ES)Caiaphas, ^(ET)the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³ And he came into all ^(EU)the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance ^[bt]for the forgiveness of sins; ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

⁷ So he was saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “^(EZ)You ^[bw]offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and ^(FA)do not start saying ^[bx]to yourselves, ‘^(FB)We have Abraham as our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ But indeed the axe is already being laid at the root of the trees; so ^(FC)every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “^(FD)Then what are we to do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two ^[by]tunics is to ^(FE)share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² Now even ^(FF)tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “^[bz]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor ^[ca](FG)harass anyone, and ^(FH)be content with your wages.”

¹⁵ Now while the people were in a state of expectation and they all were thinking carefully in their hearts about John, ^(FI)whether he himself perhaps was the ^[cb]Christ, ^16 (FJ)John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you ^[cc]with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His ^(FK)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(FL)unquenchable fire.”

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. ¹⁹ But when ^(FM)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him regarding ^(FN)Herodias, his brother’s wife, and regarding all the evil things which ^(FO)Herod had done, ²⁰ Herod also added this to them all: ^(FP)he locked John up in prison.

Jesus Is Baptized

^21 (FQ)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus also was baptized, and while He was ^(FR)praying, heaven was opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “^(FS)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

Genealogy of Jesus

^23 (FT)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years old, being, as was commonly held, the son of ^(FU)Joseph, ^[cd]the son of ^[ce]Eli, 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 ^[cf]Hesli, 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, ^(FV)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of ^[cg]Shealtiel, 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 ^[ch]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 ^[ci]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 Nathan, the son of David, ^32 (FW)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of ^[cj]Salmon, the son of ^[ck]Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of ^[cl]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^(FX)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of ^[cm]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of ^[cn]Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^(FY)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 Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The Temptation of Jesus

4 ^(FZ)Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, ^(GA)returned from the Jordan and was led around ^[co]by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for ^(GB)forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry. ³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘^(GC)Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

^5 (GD)And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of ^[cp](GE)the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and ^[cq]its glory, ^(GF)for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want. ⁷ Therefore if You ^[cr]worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” ⁸ Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘^(GG)You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

^9 (GH)And he brought Him into Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; ¹⁰ for it is written:

¹¹ and,

¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been stated, ‘^(GK)You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

¹³ And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

Jesus’ Public Ministry

¹⁴ And ^(GL)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and ^(GM)news about Him spread through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He began ^(GN)teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

¹⁶ And He came to ^(GO)Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, ^(GP)He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and ^(GQ)stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

²⁰ And He ^(GT)rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and ^(GU)sat down; and the eyes of all the people in the synagogue were intently directed at Him. ²¹ Now He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ^[cs]hearing.” ²² And all the people were ^[ct]speaking well of Him, and admiring the ^[cu]gracious words which were coming from His ^[cv]lips; and yet they were saying, “^(GV)Is this not Joseph’s son?” ²³ And He said to them, “No doubt you will ^[cw]quote this proverb to Me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! All the miracles that we heard were done ^(GW)in Capernaum, do here in ^(GX)your hometown as well.’” ²⁴ But He said, “Truly I say to you, ^(GY)no prophet is welcome in his hometown. ²⁵ But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel ^(GZ)in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a ^[cx]severe famine came over all the land; ²⁶ and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to ^[cy](HA)Zarephath, in the land of ^(HB)Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ²⁷ And there were many with leprosy in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was ^[cz]cleansed, but only ^(HC)Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; ²⁹ and they got up and ^(HD)drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the ^[da]crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. ³⁰ But He ^(HE)passed through their midst and went on His way.

³¹ And ^(HF)He came down to ^(HG)Capernaum, a city of Galilee; and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; ³² and ^(HH)they were amazed at His teaching, because ^(HI)His ^[db]message was delivered with authority. ³³ In the synagogue there was a man ^[dc]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Leave us alone! ^[dd](HJ)What business do You have with us, Jesus ^[de]of ^(HK)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(HL)the Holy One of God!” ³⁵ But Jesus ^(HM)rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. ³⁶ And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another, saying, “What is ^[df]this message? For ^(HN)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” ³⁷ And ^(HO)the news about Him was spreading into every locality of the surrounding region.

Many Are Healed

^38 (HP)Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon’s home. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ^(HQ)suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him ^[dg]to help her. ³⁹ And standing over her, He ^(HR)rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and served them.

^40 (HS)Now while ^(HT)the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He was ^(HU)laying His hands on each one of them and ^(HV)healing them. ⁴¹ Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, “You are ^(HW)the Son of God!” And yet He was ^(HX)rebuking them and would ^(HY)not allow them to speak, because they knew that He was the ^[dh]Christ.

^42 (HZ)Now when day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and they came to Him and tried to keep Him from leaving them. ⁴³ But He said to them, “I must also preach the kingdom of God to the other cities, ^(IA)because I was sent for this purpose.”

⁴⁴ So He kept on preaching in the synagogues ^(IB)of ^[di]Judea.

The First Disciples

5 ^(IC)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by ^(ID)the lake of Gennesaret; ² and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ And ^(IE)He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little distance from the land. And He sat down and continued teaching the crowds from the boat. ⁴ Now when He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and ^(IF)let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵ Simon responded and said, “^(IG)Master, ^(IH)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but ^[dj]I will do as You say and let down the nets.” ⁶ And when they had done this, ^(II)they caught a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to tear; ⁷ so they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, to the point that they were sinking. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and likewise also were ^[dk]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “^(IJ)Do not fear; from now on you will be ^(IK)catching people.” ¹¹ When they had brought their boats to land, ^(IL)they left everything and followed Him.

A Man with Leprosy Healed

^12 (IM)While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man ^[dl]covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ¹³ And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. ¹⁴ And He ordered him to tell no one, saying, “But go and ^(IN)show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” ¹⁵ But ^(IO)the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. ¹⁶ But Jesus Himself would often slip away ^[dm]to the ^[dn]wilderness and ^(IP)pray.

A Man Lowered Through a Roof

^17 [do]One day He was teaching, and ^(IQ)there were some Pharisees and ^(IR)teachers of the Law sitting there who had ^(IS)come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and ^(IT)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. ^18 (IU)And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. ¹⁹ But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on ^(IV)the roof and let him down ^(IW)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. ²⁰ And seeing their faith, He said, “^[dp]Friend, ^(IX)your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees ^(IY)began thinking of the implications, saying, “^(IZ)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? ^(JA)Who can forgive sins, except God alone?” ²² But Jesus, ^[dq]aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ²⁴ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the ^(JB)man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.” ²⁵ And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home ^(JC)glorifying God. ²⁶ And ^[dr]they were all struck with astonishment and began ^(JD)glorifying God. They were also filled ^(JE)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”

Call of Levi (Matthew)

^27 (JF)After that He went out and looked at a tax collector named ^[ds](JG)Levi sitting in the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ And he ^(JH)left everything behind, and got up and began following Him.

²⁹ And ^(JI)Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a large crowd of ^(JJ)tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them. ^30 (JK)The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling to His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and ^[dt]sinners?” ³¹ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(JL)It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners.”

³³ And they said to Him, “^(JM)The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do ^[du]the same, but Yours eat and drink.” ³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the ^[dv]attendants of the groom fast while the groom is with them, can you? ^35 (JN)But the days will come; and when the groom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” ³⁶ And He was also telling them a parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the patch from the new garment will not match the old. ³⁷ And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. ³⁹ And no one, after drinking old wine wants new; for he says, ‘The old is fine.’”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

6 ^(JO)Now it happened that ^[dw]Jesus was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath, and His disciples ^(JP)were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating them. ² But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what ^(JQ)is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ³ And Jesus, answering them, said, “Have you not even read ^(JR)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the ^[dx]consecrated bread, which ^(JS)is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?” ⁵ And He was saying to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^6 (JT)On another Sabbath He entered ^(JU)the synagogue and taught; and a man was there ^[dy]whose right hand was withered. ⁷ Now the scribes and the Pharisees ^(JV)were watching Him ^[dz]closely to see if He healed on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse Him. ⁸ But He ^(JW)knew ^[ea]what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and ^[eb]come forward!” And he got up and ^[ec]came forward. ⁹ And Jesus said to them, “I ask you whether it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath or to do harm, to save a life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ And after ^(JX)looking around at them all, He said to him, “Stretch out your hand!” And he did so; and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they themselves were filled with senseless rage, and began discussing together what they might do to Jesus.

Choosing the Twelve

¹² Now it was ^[ed]at this time that He went off to ^(JY)the mountain to ^(JZ)pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer with God. ¹³ And when day came, ^(KA)He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as ^(KB)apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and ^[ee]James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ and ^(KC)Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

¹⁷ And then Jesus ^(KD)came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was ^(KE)a large crowd of His disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the coastal region of ^(KF)Tyre and Sidon, ¹⁸ who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled by unclean spirits were being cured. ¹⁹ And all the ^[ef]people were trying to ^(KG)touch Him, because ^(KH)power was coming from Him and healing them all.

The Beatitudes

²⁰ And He raised His eyes toward His disciples and began saying, “^(KI)Blessed are ^[eg]you who are poor, for ^(KJ)yours is the kingdom of God. ²¹ Blessed are ^[eh]you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are ^[ei]you who weep now, for you will laugh. ^22 (KK)Blessed are you when the people hate you, and when they ^[ej](KL)exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and ^(KM)jump for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For their fathers used to ^[ek]treat the prophets ^(KN)the same way. ²⁴ But woe to ^(KO)you who are rich, for ^(KP)you are receiving your comfort in full. ²⁵ Woe to you who ^[el]are well-fed now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. ²⁶ Woe to you when all the people speak well of you; for their fathers used to ^[em]treat the ^(KQ)false prophets the same way.

²⁷ “But I say to you who hear, ^(KR)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, ^(KS)pray for those who are abusive to you. ^29 (KT)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your ^[en]cloak, do not withhold your ^[eo]tunic from him either. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. ^31 [ep](KU)Treat people the same way you want them to ^[eq]treat you. ^32 (KV)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (KW)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. ³⁵ But ^(KX)love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be ^(KY)sons of ^(KZ)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. ^36 [er]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷ “^(LA)Do not ^[es]judge, and you will not be judged; and do not ^[et]condemn, and you will not be condemned; ^[eu](LB)pardon, and you will be pardoned. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. They will ^[ev]pour ^(LC)into your lap a ^(LD)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

³⁹ Now He also spoke a parable to them: “^(LE)A person who is blind cannot guide another who is blind, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit? ^40 (LF)A ^[ew]student is not above the teacher; but everyone, when he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you look at the ^[ex]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the ^[ey]speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the ^[ez]speck that is in your brother’s eye. ^43 (LG)For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, ^[fa]on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. ^44 (LH)For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. ^45 (LI)The good person out of the good ^[fb]treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; ^(LJ)for his mouth speaks from ^[fc]that which fills his heart.

The Parable of the Builders

⁴⁶ “Now ^(LK)why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ^47 (LL)Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and ^[fd]acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who ^[fe]dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Slave

7 ^(LM)When He had completed all His ^[ff]teaching in the hearing of the people, ^(LN)He went to Capernaum.

² Now a centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. ³ When he heard about Jesus, ^(LO)he sent some ^[fg]Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; ⁵ for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.” ⁶ Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “^[fh]Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof; ⁷ for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just ^[fi]say the word, and my servant ^[fj]shall be healed. ⁸ For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” ⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, “I say to you, ^(LP)not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, ^[fk]accompanied by a large crowd. ¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, ^[fl]a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When ^(LQ)the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, “Do not go on weeping.” ¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. ^16 (LR)Fear gripped them all, and they began ^(LS)glorifying God, saying, “A great ^(LT)prophet has appeared among us!” and, “God has ^[fm]visited His people!” ^17 (LU)And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.

The Messengers from John

^18 (LV)The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things. ¹⁹ And after summoning ^[fn]two of his disciples, John sent them to ^(LW)the Lord, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^[fo]look for another?” ²⁰ When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, ^[fp]to ask, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^[fq]look for another?’” ²¹ At that very ^[fr]time He ^(LX)cured many people of diseases and ^(LY)afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. ²² And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were ^(LZ)blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and ^(MA)people who are poor have the gospel preached to them. ²³ And blessed is ^[fs]anyone who does not take offense at Me.”

²⁴ When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the ^[ft]wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^25 [fu]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is ^[fw]least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged ^(MC)God’s justice, ^(MD)having been baptized with ^(ME)the baptism of John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the ^[fx](MF)lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by ^[fy]John.

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’ ³³ For John the Baptist has come neither ^(MG)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, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[fz]heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and ^[ga]sinners!’ ³⁵ And yet wisdom ^(MH)is vindicated by all her children.”

The Anointing in Galilee

³⁶ Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ^37 (MI)And there was a woman in the city who was a ^[gb]sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, ³⁸ and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were ^(MJ)a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a ^[gc]sinner!”

Parable of Two Debtors

⁴⁰ And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he ^[gd]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹ “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred ^[ge](MK)denarii, and the other, fifty. ⁴² When they ^(ML)were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” ⁴⁴ And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you ^(MM)gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You ^[gf](MN)gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. ^46 (MO)You did not ^[gg]anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. ⁴⁷ For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “^(MP)Your sins have been forgiven.” ⁴⁹ And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying ^[gh]to themselves, “^(MQ)Who is this man who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And He said to the woman, “^(MR)Your faith has saved you; ^(MS)go in peace.”

Women Support Jesus

8 Soon afterward, ^[gi]Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, ^(MT)proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also ^(MU)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: ^(MV)Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, ^(MW)Herod’s ^(MX)steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Parable of the Sower

^4 (MY)Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “^(MZ)The one who has ears to hear, ^[gj]let him hear.”

^9 (NA)Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable ^[gk]meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “^(NB)To you it has been granted to know the ^[gl]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that ^[gm](NC)while seeing they may not see, and ^[gn]while hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now this is the parable: ^(ND)the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; ^[go]they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they ^[gp]fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word ^[gq]with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with ^[gr]perseverance.

Parable of the Lamp

¹⁶ “Now ^(NE)no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light. ^17 (NF)For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; ^(NG)for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[gs]thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

^19 (NH)Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these ^(NI)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Stills the Sea

^22 (NJ)Now on one of those days ^[gt]Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of ^(NK)the lake.” So they launched out. ²³ But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on ^(NL)the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. ²⁴ They came up to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “^(NM)Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and ^(NN)rebuked the wind and the surging ^[gu]waves, and they stopped, and ^[gv]it became calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” But they were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

The Demon-possessed Man Cured

^26 (NO)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ And when He stepped out onto the land, a man from the city met Him who was possessed with demons; and he had not put on clothing for a long time and was not living in a house, but among the tombs. ²⁸ And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him, and said with a loud voice, “^[gw](NP)What business do You have with me, Jesus, Son of ^(NQ)the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” ²⁹ For He had already commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard, and yet he would break the restraints and be driven by the demon into the desert. ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “^(NR)Legion”; because many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they were begging Him not to command them to go away into ^(NS)the abyss.

³² Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding there on the mountain; and the demons begged Him to permit them to enter ^[gx]the pigs. And He gave them permission. ³³ And the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(NT)the lake and was drowned.

³⁴ Now when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported everything in the city, and in the country. ³⁵ And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down ^(NU)at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. ³⁶ Those who had seen everything reported to them how the man who had been ^(NV)demon-possessed had been ^[gy]made well. ³⁷ And all the ^[gz]people of the territory of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed by great fear; and He got into a boat and returned. ^38 (NW)But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might ^[ha]accompany Him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home and describe what great things God has done for you.” So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city what great things Jesus had done for him.

Miracles of Healing

^40 (NX)And as Jesus was returning, the ^[hb]people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. ^41 (NY)And a man named Jairus came, and he was an ^[hc](NZ)official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began urging Him to come to his house; ⁴² for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

⁴³ And a woman who had suffered a chronic flow of blood for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, ⁴⁴ came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His ^[hd]cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “^(OA)Master, the ^[he]people are crowding and pressing in on You.” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that ^(OB)power had left Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and admitted in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, ^(OC)your faith has ^[hf]made you well; ^(OD)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of ^(OE)the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” ⁵⁰ But when Jesus heard this, He responded to him, “^(OF)Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be ^[hg]made well.” ⁵¹ When He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him except Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s father and mother. ⁵² Now they were all weeping and ^(OG)mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but ^(OH)is asleep.” ⁵³ And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. ⁵⁴ He, however, took her by the hand and spoke ^[hh]forcefully, saying, “Child, arise!” ⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He ordered that something be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed; but He ^(OI)instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

Ministry of the Twelve

9 ^(OJ)Now He called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. ² And He sent them out to ^(OK)proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. ³ And He said to them, “^(OL)Take nothing for your journey, ^(OM)neither a staff, nor a ^[hi]bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two ^[hj]tunics. ⁴ And whatever house you enter, stay there ^[hk]until you leave that city. ⁵ And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, ^(ON)shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ And as they were leaving, they began going ^[hl]throughout the villages, ^(OO)preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

^7 (OP)Now ^(OQ)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(OR)John had risen from the dead, ⁸ and by some that ^(OS)Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And ^(OT)he kept trying to see Him.

^10 (OU)When the apostles returned, they gave an account to Him of all that they had done. ^(OV)And taking them with Him, He withdrew privately to a city called ^(OW)Bethsaida. ¹¹ But the crowds were aware of this and followed Him; and He welcomed them and began speaking to them about the kingdom of God, and curing those who had need of healing.

Five Thousand Men Fed

¹² Now the day ^[hm]was ending, and the twelve came up and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowd, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging and get ^[hn]something to eat; because here, we are in a secluded place.” ¹³ But He said to them, “You give them something to eat!” But they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ (For there were about five thousand men.) But He said to His disciples, “Have them recline to eat ^(OX)in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ They did so, and had them all recline. ¹⁶ And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He blessed them and broke them, and gave them to the disciples again and again, to serve the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied; and ^[ho]the broken pieces which they had left over were picked up, twelve ^(OY)baskets full.

Peter Says Jesus is The Christ

^18 (OZ)And it happened that while He was ^(PA)praying alone, the disciples were with Him, and He questioned them, saying, “Who do the ^[hp]people say that I am?” ¹⁹ They answered and said, “John the Baptist, and others say Elijah; but others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered and said, “^(PB)The ^[hq]Christ of God.” ²¹ But He ^[hr](PC)warned them and instructed them not to tell this to anyone, ^22 (PD)saying, “^(PE)The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.”

²³ And He was saying to them all, “^(PF)If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(PG)whoever wants to save his ^[hs]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[ht]life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but ^(PH)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (PI)For whoever is ashamed 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 Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, ^(PJ)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (PK)About eight days after these sayings, He took along ^(PL)Peter, John, and James, and ^(PM)went up on the mountain ^(PN)to pray. ²⁹ And while He was ^(PO)praying, the appearance of His face ^(PP)became different, and His clothing became white and ^[hu]gleaming. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who, appearing in ^[hv]glory, were speaking of His ^(PQ)departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and his companions ^(PR)had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. ³³ And as ^[hw]these two men were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “^(PS)Master, it is good that we are here; and ^(PT)let’s make three ^[hx]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—^(PU)not realizing what he was saying. ³⁴ But while he was saying this, a cloud ^[hy]formed and began to overshadow them; and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And then ^(PV)a voice came from the cloud, saying, “^(PW)This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” ³⁶ And when the voice ^[hz]had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And ^(PX)they kept silent, and reported to no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.

^37 (PY)On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. ³⁸ And a man from the crowd shouted, saying, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only son, ³⁹ and a spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams, and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves. ⁴⁰ And I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not.” ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² Now while he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And they were all amazed at the ^[ia](PZ)greatness of God.

^(QA)But while everyone was astonished at all that He was doing, He said to His disciples, ⁴⁴ “As for you, let these words sink into your ears: ^(QB)for the Son of Man is going to be ^[ib]handed over to men.” ⁴⁵ But ^(QC)they ^[ic]did not understand this statement, and it was concealed from them so that they would not comprehend it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.

The Test of Greatness

^46 (QD)Now an argument ^[id]started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, ^(QE)knowing ^[ie]what they were thinking in their hearts, took a child and had him stand by His side, ⁴⁸ and He said to them, “^(QF)Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; ^(QG)for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.”

^49 (QH)John answered and said, “^(QI)Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him, because he does not follow along with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not hinder him; ^(QJ)for the one who is not against you is ^[if]for you.”

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(QK)His ^[ig]ascension, He ^[ih]was determined ^(QL)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(QM)Samaritans to ^[ii]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(QN)because ^[ij]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(QO)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(QP)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[ik] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (QQ)As they were going on the road, ^(QR)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(QS)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(QT)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(QU)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(QV)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(QW)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

The Seventy-two Sent Out

10 Now after this ^(QX)the Lord appointed ^[il]seventy-two ^(QY)others, and sent them ^(QZ)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. ² And He was saying to them, “^(RA)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. ³ Go; ^(RB)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. ^4 (RC)Carry no money belt, no ^[im]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. ⁵ And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ ⁶ And if a ^[in]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in ^[io]that house, eating and drinking ^[ip]what they provide; for ^(RD)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. ⁸ Whatever city you enter and they receive you, ^(RE)eat what is served to you; ⁹ and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘^(RF)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘^(RG)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet ^[iq]be sure of this, that ^(RH)the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I say to you, ^(RI)it will be more tolerable on that day for ^(RJ)Sodom than for that city.

¹³ “^(RK)Woe to you, ^(RL)Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(RM)Bethsaida! For if the ^[ir]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(RN)Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in ^[is](RO)sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more tolerable for ^(RP)Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you. ¹⁵ And you, ^(RQ)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be brought down to Hades!

¹⁶ “^(RR)The one who listens to you listens to Me, and ^(RS)the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”

The Joyful Results

¹⁷ Now the ^[it]seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even ^(RT)the demons are subject to us ^[iu]in Your name!” ¹⁸ And He said to them, “I watched ^(RU)Satan fall from heaven like lightning. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to ^(RV)walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not ^[iv]rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that ^(RW)your names are recorded in heaven.”

^21 (RX)At that very ^[iw]time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, “I ^[ix]praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for doing so was well pleasing in Your sight. ^22 (RY)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and ^(RZ)no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.”

^23 (SA)Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; ²⁴ for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them.”

^25 (SB)And behold, a ^[iy](SC)lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? ^[iz]How does it read to you?” ²⁷ And he answered, “^(SD)You shall love the Lord your God ^[ja]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; ^(SE)do this and you will live.” ²⁹ But wanting ^(SF)to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

The Good Samaritan

³⁰ Jesus replied and said, “A man was ^(SG)going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and ^[jb]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.