Luke 9
New King James Version
Sending Out the Twelve(A)
9 Then (B)He called His twelve disciples together and (C)gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 (D)He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 (E)And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.
4 (F)“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 (G)And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, (H)shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
6 (I)So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.
Herod Seeks to See Jesus(J)
7 (K)Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9 Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” (L)So he sought to see Him.
Feeding the Five Thousand(M)
10 (N)And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. (O)Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida. 11 But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing. 12 (P)When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.”
13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”
And they said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For there were about five thousand men.
Then He said to His disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of fifty.” 15 And they did so, and made them all sit down.
16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He (Q)blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 So they all ate and were [a]filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.
Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ(R)
18 (S)And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 So they answered and said, (T)“John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
(U)Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection(V)
21 (W)And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, (X)“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 the third day.”
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him(Y)
23 (Z)Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [b]daily, and follow Me. 24 (AA)For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 (AB)For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 (AC)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be (AD)ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. 27 (AE)But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Transfigured on the Mount(AF)
28 (AG)Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray. 29 As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening. 30 And behold, two men talked with Him, who were (AH)Moses and (AI)Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory and spoke of His [c]decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32 But Peter and those with him (AJ)were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him. 33 Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three [d]tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.
34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the (AK)cloud. 35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, (AL)“This is [e]My beloved Son. (AM)Hear Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone. (AN)But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.
A Boy Is Healed(AO)
37 (AP)Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him. 38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, “Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
41 Then Jesus answered and said, “O [f]faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and [g]bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death(AQ)
43 And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.
But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, 44 (AR)“Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 45 (AS)But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.
Who Is the Greatest?(AT)
46 (AU)Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest. 47 And Jesus, (AV)perceiving the thought of their heart, took a (AW)little child and set him by Him, 48 and said to them, (AX)“Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and (AY)whoever receives Me (AZ)receives Him who sent Me. (BA)For he who is least among you all will be great.”
Jesus Forbids Sectarianism(BB)
49 (BC)Now John answered and said, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us.”
50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him, for (BD)he who is not against [h]us is on [i]our side.”
A Samaritan Village Rejects the Savior
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for (BE)Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But (BF)they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples (BG)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, [j]just as (BH)Elijah did?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, [k]and said, “You do not know what manner of (BI)spirit you are of. 56 [l]For (BJ)the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village.
The Cost of Discipleship(BK)
57 (BL)Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man (BM)has nowhere to lay His head.”
59 (BN)Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
61 And another also said, “Lord, (BO)I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is (BP)fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- Luke 9:17 satisfied
- Luke 9:23 M omits daily
- Luke 9:31 Death, lit. departure
- Luke 9:33 tents
- Luke 9:35 NU My Son, the Chosen One
- Luke 9:41 unbelieving
- Luke 9:41 put up with
- Luke 9:50 NU you
- Luke 9:50 NU your
- Luke 9:54 NU omits just as Elijah did
- Luke 9:55 NU omits the rest of v. 55.
- Luke 9:56 NU omits For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.
Luke 9
Amplified Bible
Ministry of the Twelve
9 Now Jesus called together the twelve [disciples] and gave them [the right to exercise] power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 Then He sent them out [on a brief journey] to preach [a]the kingdom of God and to perform healing.(A) 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey [that might encumber you]—neither a walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two [b]tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city [to go to another]. 5 And as for all those who do not welcome you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet [breaking all ties with them] as a testimony against them [that they rejected My message].” 6 So they began going from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing the sick everywhere.
7 Now Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch [who governed a portion of Palestine including Galilee and Perea] heard about all that was being done [by Jesus], and he was thoroughly perplexed, because it was said by some that John [the Baptist whom he had ordered beheaded] had been raised from the dead,(B) 8 and by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the [other] prophets of old had been resurrected. 9 Herod said, “I personally had John beheaded. Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
10 When the apostles returned, they told Him all that they had done. He took them with Him and He privately withdrew [across the Jordan] to a city called Bethsaida.(C) 11 But when the crowds learned of it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them and He began talking to them about the kingdom of God, and healing those who needed to be healed.
Five Thousand Fed
12 Now the day was ending, and the twelve [disciples] came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging, and get provisions; because here we are in an isolated place.” 13 But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish—unless perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”(D) 14 (For there were [c]about 5,000 men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 They all ate and were [completely] satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were [abundant and were] picked up—twelve baskets full.
18 Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”(E) 19 They answered, “John the Baptist, and some say, Elijah; but others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” 20 And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!” 21 But He strictly warned and admonished them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be put to death, and on the third day be raised up [from death to life].”(F)
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the [heavenly] Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truthfully, there are [d]some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these teachings, He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.(G) 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then [e]a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].(H)
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.(I) 38 And a man from the crowd shouted for help, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only child; 39 and a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into a convulsion so that he foams at the mouth; and only with [great] difficulty does it leave him, mauling and bruising him as it leaves. 40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon slammed him down and threw him into a [violent] convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.(J)
But while they were still awed by everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies].” 45 However, they did not understand this statement. Its meaning was kept hidden from them so that they would not grasp it; and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
The Test of Greatness
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority].(K) 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and had him stand beside Him, 48 and He told them, “Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me [also] welcomes Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great.”
49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name; and we tried to stop him because he does not follow along with us.”(L) 50 But Jesus told him, “Do not stop him; for he who is not against you is for you.”(M)
51 Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up [to heaven], He was determined to go to Jerusalem [to fulfill His purpose]. 52 He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him; 53 but the people would not welcome Him, [f]because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?”(N) 55 But He turned and rebuked them [g][and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”(O) 58 And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” 59 He said to another, “Follow Me [accepting Me as Master and Teacher].” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and [h]bury my father.”(P) 60 But He said to him, “Allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and spread the news about the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord [as Your disciple]; but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- Luke 9:2 Jesus as Israel’s Messiah.
- Luke 9:3 Simple slip-on garments made with or without sleeves, usually knee length and worn as either an under or outer garment in ancient times.
- Luke 9:14 The women and children were not included in this estimate.
- Luke 9:27 Perhaps a reference to Peter, John, and James who were to witness the transfiguration a few days later.
- Luke 9:35 See note Matt 3:17.
- Luke 9:53 Because of the religious conflict between Samaritans and Jews, the people of Samaria were generally inhospitable to Jews and did not offer overnight accommodations to those who were traveling to Jerusalem to participate in religious events.
- Luke 9:55 Late mss add this to v 55 and continue into v 56.
- Luke 9:59 See note Matt 8:21.
Luke 9
Good News Translation
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples(A)
9 Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick, 3 after saying to them, “Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt. 4 Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town; 5 (B)wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”
6 The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.
Herod's Confusion(C)
7 (D)When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life. 8 Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 Herod said, “I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand(E)
10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida. 11 When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.
12 When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place.”
13 But Jesus said to them, “You yourselves give them something to eat.”
They answered, “All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?” 14 (There were about five thousand men there.)
Jesus said to his disciples, “Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 After the disciples had done so, 16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.
Peter's Declaration about Jesus(F)
18 One day when Jesus was praying alone, the disciples came to him. “Who do the crowds say I am?” he asked them.
19 (G)“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered. “Others say that you are Elijah, while others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
20 (H)“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are God's Messiah.”
Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death(I)
21 Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone. 22 He also told them, “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life.”
23 (J)And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. 24 (K)For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not! 26 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I assure you that there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration(L)
28 About a week after he had said these things, Jesus took Peter, John, and James with him and went up a hill to pray. 29 While he was praying, his face changed its appearance, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30 Suddenly two men were there talking with him. They were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in heavenly glory and talked with Jesus about the way in which he would soon fulfill God's purpose by dying in Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were sound asleep, but they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men who were standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not really know what he was saying.)
34 While he was still speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow; and the disciples were afraid as the cloud came over them. 35 (M)A voice said from the cloud, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen—listen to him!”
36 When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone. The disciples kept quiet about all this and told no one at that time anything they had seen.
Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit(N)
37 The next day Jesus and the three disciples went down from the hill, and a large crowd met Jesus. 38 A man shouted from the crowd, “Teacher! I beg you, look at my son—my only son! 39 A spirit attacks him with a sudden shout and throws him into a fit, so that he foams at the mouth; it keeps on hurting him and will hardly let him go! 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn't.”
41 Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?” Then he said to the man, “Bring your son here.”
42 As the boy was coming, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a fit. Jesus gave a command to the evil spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 All the people were amazed at the mighty power of God.
Jesus Speaks Again about His Death(O)
The people were still marveling at everything Jesus was doing, when he said to his disciples, 44 “Don't forget what I am about to tell you! The Son of Man is going to be handed over to the power of human beings.” 45 But the disciples did not know what this meant. It had been hidden from them so that they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about the matter.
Who Is the Greatest?(P)
46 (Q)An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side, 48 (R)and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest.”
Whoever Is Not against You Is for You(S)
49 John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”
50 “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”
A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus
51 As the time drew near when Jesus would be taken up to heaven, he made up his mind and set out on his way to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead of him, who went into a village in Samaria to get everything ready for him. 53 But the people there would not receive him, because it was clear that he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 (T)When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”[a]
55 Jesus turned and rebuked them.[b] 56 Then Jesus and his disciples went on to another village.
The Would-Be Followers of Jesus(U)
57 As they went on their way, a man said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.”
59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But that man said, “Sir, first let me go back and bury my father.”
60 Jesus answered, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
61 (V)Someone else said, “I will follow you, sir; but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.”
62 Jesus said to him, “Anyone who starts to plow and then keeps looking back is of no use for the Kingdom of God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
