Luke 9
World English Bible
9 He called the twelve[a] together, and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them out to preach God’s Kingdom and to heal the sick. 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey—no staffs, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money. Don’t have two coats each. 4 Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. 5 As many as don’t receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.”
6 They departed and went throughout the villages, preaching the Good News and healing everywhere. 7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very 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, “I beheaded John, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” He sought to see him. 10 The apostles, when they had returned, told him what things they had done.
He took them and withdrew apart to a desert region of[b] a city called Bethsaida. 11 But the multitudes, perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them of God’s Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing. 12 The day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms, and lodge, and get food, for we are here in a deserted 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 we should go and buy food for all these people.” 14 For they were about five thousand men.
He said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and made them all sit down. 16 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to the sky, he blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. 17 They ate and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over.
18 As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?”
19 They answered, “‘John the Baptizer,’ but others say, ‘Elijah,’ and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 But he warned them, and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.”
23 He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross,[c] and follow me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake, will save it. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self? 26 For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed, when he comes in his glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here who will in no way taste of death until they see God’s Kingdom.”
28 About eight days after these sayings, he took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up onto the mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling. 30 Behold, two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and spoke of his departure,[d] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory, and the two men who stood with him. 33 As they were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let’s make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not knowing what he said.
34 While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. 35 A voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” 36 When the voice came, Jesus was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen.
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. 38 Behold, a man from the crowd called out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 Behold, a spirit takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams, and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, and they couldn’t.”
41 Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
42 While he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him violently. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 They were all astonished at the majesty of God.
But while all were marveling at all the things which Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears, for the Son of Man will be delivered up into the hands of men.” 45 But they didn’t understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
46 An argument arose among them about which of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus, perceiving the reasoning of their hearts, took a little child, and set him by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great.”
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”
50 Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”
51 It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem 52 and sent messengers before his face. They went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, so as to prepare for him. 53 They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set 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 the sky and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
55 But he turned and rebuked them, “You don’t know of what kind of spirit you are. 56 For the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
They went to another village. 57 As they went on the way, a certain man said to him, “I want to follow you wherever you go, Lord.”
58 Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
59 He said to another, “Follow me!”
But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”
61 Another also said, “I want to follow you, Lord, but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house.”
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 9
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Mission of the Twelve
9 Then Jesus[a] called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,(A) 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.(B) 3 He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey: no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money—not even an extra tunic.(C) 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there, and leave from there. 5 Wherever they do not welcome you, as you are leaving that town shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”(D) 6 So they departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
Herod’s Perplexity
7 Now Herod the ruler heard about all that had taken place, and he was perplexed because it was said by some that John had been raised from the dead,(E) 8 by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the ancient prophets had arisen.(F) 9 Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he tried to see him.(G)
Feeding the Five Thousand
10 On their return the apostles told Jesus[b] all they had done. Then, taking them along, he slipped quietly into a city called Bethsaida.(H) 11 When the crowds found out about it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God and healed those who needed to be cured.
12 The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside to lodge and get provisions, for we are here in a deserted 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 we are to go and buy food for all these people.”(I) 14 For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.(J) 17 And all ate and were filled, and what was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.
Peter’s Declaration about Jesus
18 Once when Jesus[c] was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”(K) 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.”(L) 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah[d] of God.”(M)
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
21 He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone,(N) 22 saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.”(O)
23 Then he said to them all, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.(P) 24 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.(Q) 25 For what does it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose or forfeit themselves?(R) 26 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.(S) 27 Indeed, truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”(T)
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus[e] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.(U) 29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking about his exodus, which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem.(V) 32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep, but as they awoke they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.(W) 33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah,” not realizing what he was saying.(X) 34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen;[f] listen to him!”(Y) 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.(Z)
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon
37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. 39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he[g] shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. 40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was being brought forward, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
Jesus Again Foretells His Death
While everyone was amazed at all that he was doing, he said to his disciples,(AA) 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands.”(AB) 45 But they did not understand this saying; its meaning remained concealed from them, so that they could not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.(AC)
True Greatness
46 An argument arose among them concerning which one of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a little child and put it by his side 48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the least among all of you is the greatest.”(AD)
Another Exorcist
49 John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he does not follow with us.”(AE) 50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”(AF)
A Samaritan Village Refuses to Receive Jesus
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.(AG) 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for his arrival,(AH) 53 but they did not receive him because his face was set 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 consume them?”[h](AI) 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then[i] they went on to another village.
Would-Be Followers of Jesus
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “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 has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”(AJ) 60 And Jesus[j] said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- 9.1 Gk he
- 9.10 Gk him
- 9.18 Gk he
- 9.20 Or The Christ
- 9.28 Gk he
- 9.35 Other ancient authorities read my Beloved
- 9.39 Or it
- 9.54 Other ancient authorities add as Elijah did
- 9.56 Other ancient authorities read rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what spirit you are of,
for the Son of Man has not come to destroy the lives of humans but to save them.” Then - 9.60 Gk he
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.