Luke 1:1-6:11

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Dedication to Theophilus

1 Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, ² just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word,^{(A) 3} I, too, decided, as one having a grasp of everything from the start,^[a] to write a well-ordered account for you, most excellent Theophilus,^{(B) 4} so that you may have a firm grasp of the words in which you have been instructed.

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

⁵ In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was descended from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.^{(C) 6} Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord.^{(D) 7} But they had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

⁸ Once when he was serving as priest before God during his section’s turn of duty,^{(E) 9} he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to offer incense.^{(F) 10} Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside.^{(G) 11} Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. ¹² When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified, and fear overwhelmed him. ¹³ But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John.^{(H) 14} You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth,^{(I) 15} for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.^{(J) 16} He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.^{(K) 17} With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”^{(L) 18} Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I know that this will happen? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.”^{(M) 19} The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.^{(N) 20} But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.”^(O)

²¹ Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering at his delay in the sanctuary. ²² When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. ²³ When his time of service was ended, he returned to his home.

²⁴ After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, ²⁵ “This is what the Lord has done for me in this time, when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”^(P)

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

²⁶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,^{(Q) 27} to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.^{(R) 28} And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”^{[b](S) 29} But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. ³⁰ The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.^{(T) 32} He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.^{(U) 33} He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”^{(V) 34} Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”^{[c] 35} The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born^[d] will be holy; he will be called Son of God.^{(W) 36} And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.”^{(X) 38} Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth

³⁹ In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰ where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴² and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.^{(Y) 43} And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?^{(Z) 44} For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵ And blessed is she who believed that there would be^[e] a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

Mary’s Song of Praise

⁴⁶ And Mary^[f] said,

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

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸ Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.^(AK)

⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father.^{(AL) 60} But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” ⁶¹ They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” ⁶² Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. ⁶³ He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him.^(AM)

Zechariah’s Prophecy

⁶⁷ Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:^(AN)

⁸⁰ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.^(AX)

The Birth of Jesus

2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ All went to their own towns to be registered. ⁴ Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.^{(AY) 5} He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.^[k]

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸ Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:^{(AZ) 11} to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,^[l] the Lord.^{(BA) 12} This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”^{(BB) 13} And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,^[m] praising God and saying,^(BC)

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, ¹⁹ and Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.^{(BE) 20} The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.^(BF)

Jesus Is Named

²¹ When the eighth day came, it was time to circumcise the child,^[o] and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.^(BG)

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²² When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord^{(BH) 23} (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),^{(BI) 24} and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.^{(BJ) 26} It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.^{[p](BK) 27} Guided by the Spirit, Simeon^[q] came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law,^{(BL) 28} Simeon^[r] took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

³³ And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be opposed^{(BP) 35} so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul, too.”

³⁶ There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,^{(BQ) 37} then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.^{(BR) 38} At that moment she came and began to praise God and to speak about the child^[s] to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.^(BS)

The Return to Nazareth

³⁹ When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.^{(BT) 40} The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom, and the favor of God was upon him.^(BU)

The Boy Jesus in the Temple

⁴¹ Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.^{(BV) 42} And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. ⁴³ When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents were unaware of this. ⁴⁴ Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵ When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. ⁴⁶ After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.^{(BW) 48} When his parents^[t] saw him they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.”^{(BX) 49} He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”^{[u](BY) 50} But they did not understand what he said to them.^{(BZ) 51} Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his mother treasured all these things in her heart.^(CA)

⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years^[v] and in divine and human favor.^(CB)

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,^{(CC) 2} during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.^{(CD) 3} He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴ as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?^{(CG) 8} Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.^{(CH) 9} Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”^(CI)

¹⁰ And the crowds asked him, “What, then, should we do?”^{(CJ) 11} In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none, and whoever has food must do likewise.”^{(CK) 12} Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?”^{(CL) 13} He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”^{(CM) 14} Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”^(CN)

¹⁵ As the people were filled with expectation and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah,^{[w](CO) 16} John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with^[x] the Holy Spirit and fire.^{(CP) 17} His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”^(CQ)

¹⁸ So with many other exhortations he proclaimed the good news to the people. ¹⁹ But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done,^{(CR) 20} added to them all by shutting up John in prison.

The Baptism of Jesus

²¹ Now when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened,^{(CS) 22} and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved;^[y] with you I am well pleased.”^[z](CT)

The Ancestors of Jesus

²³ Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as was thought) of Joseph son of Heli,^{(CU) 24} son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi, son of Jannai, son of Joseph, ²⁵ son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son of Esli, son of Naggai, ²⁶ son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of Josech, son of Joda, ²⁷ son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Neri,^{(CV) 28} son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of Elmadam, son of Er, ²⁹ son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat, son of Levi, ³⁰ son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of Eliakim, ³¹ son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of David,^{(CW) 32} son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,^[aa] son of Nahshon,^{(CX) 33} son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni,^[ab] son of Hezron, son of Perez, son of Judah, ³⁴ son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of Nahor,^{(CY) 35} son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, ³⁶ son of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech,^{(CZ) 37} son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, ³⁸ son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.^(DA)

The Testing of Jesus

4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,^{(DB) 2} where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.^{(DC) 3} The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”^(DD)

⁵ Then the devil^[ac] led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And the devil^[ad] said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.^{(DE) 7} If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered him, “It is written,

⁹ Then the devil^[ae] led him to Jerusalem and placed him 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 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”^{(DH) 13} When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.^(DI)

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

¹⁴ Then Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding region.^{(DJ) 15} He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.^(DK)

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

¹⁶ When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,^{(DL) 17} and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:

²⁰ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.^{(DO) 21} Then he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”^{(DP) 23} He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’ ”^{(DQ) 24} And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.^{(DR) 25} But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months and there was a severe famine over all the land,^{(DS) 26} yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. ²⁷ There were also many with a skin disease in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”^{(DT) 28} When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.^{(DU) 30} But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.^(DV)

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

³¹ He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.^{(DW) 32} They were astounded at his teaching because he spoke with authority.^{(DX) 33} In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ “Leave us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”^{(DY) 35} But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” Then the demon, throwing the man down before them, came out of him without doing him any harm.^{(DZ) 36} They were all astounded and kept saying to one another, “What kind of word is this, that with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out?”^{(EA) 37} And news about him began to reach every place in the region.^(EB)

Healings at Simon’s House

³⁸ After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. ³⁹ Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.^(EC)

⁴⁰ As the sun was setting, all those caring for any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them.^{(ED) 41} Moreover, demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.^[af](EE)

Jesus Preaches in the Synagogues

⁴² At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds began looking for him, and when they reached him they tried to keep him from leaving them.^{(EF) 43} But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” ⁴⁴ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.^[ag](EG)

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

5 Once while Jesus^[ah] was standing beside the Lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, ² he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.^{(EH) 4} When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.”^{(EI) 5} Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.”^{(EJ) 6} When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to burst. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’s knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astounded at the catch of fish that they had taken, ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”^{(EK) 11} When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.^(EL)

Jesus Cleanses a Man with a Skin Disease

¹² Once when he was in one of the cities, a man covered with a skin disease was there. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”^{(EM) 13} Then Jesus^[ai] stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I am willing. Be made clean.” Immediately the skin disease left him. ¹⁴ And he ordered him to tell no one. “But go, show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”^{(EN) 15} But now more than ever the word about Jesus^[aj] spread abroad; many crowds were gathering to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.^{(EO) 16} Meanwhile, he would slip away to deserted places and pray.^(EP)

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹⁷ One day while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem were sitting nearby, and the power of the Lord was with him to heal.^{[ak](EQ) 18} Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,^{[al] 19} but, finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the tiles into the middle of the crowd^[am] in front of Jesus.^{(ER) 20} When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend,^[an] your sins are forgiven you.”^{(ES) 21} Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”^{(ET) 22} When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Stand 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 one who was paralyzed—“I say to you, stand up and take your stretcher and go to your home.” ²⁵ Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. ²⁶ Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”^(EU)

Jesus Calls Levi

²⁷ After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” ²⁸ And he got up, left everything, and followed him.^(EV)

²⁹ Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them.^{(EW) 30} The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”^{(EX) 31} Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; ³² I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”^(EY)

The Question about Fasting

³³ Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.”^{(EZ) 34} Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding attendants fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? ³⁵ The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”^{(FA) 36} He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise, not only will one tear the new garment, but the piece from the new will not match the old garment. ³⁷ Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins and will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.^{[ao] 39} And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine but says, ‘The old is good.’ ”^[ap]

The Question about the Sabbath

6 One Sabbath^[aq] while Jesus^[ar] was going through some grain fields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them.^{(FB) 2} But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful^[as] on the Sabbath?”^{(FC) 3} Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?^{(FD) 4} How he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?”^{(FE) 5} Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

The Man with a Withered Hand

⁶ On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.^{(FF) 7} The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see whether he would cure on the Sabbath, so that they might find grounds to bring an accusation against him. ⁸ But he knew what they were thinking, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand in the middle.” He got up and stood there.^{(FG) 9} Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?” ¹⁰ After looking around at all of them, he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored. ¹¹ But they were filled with fury and began discussing with one another what they might do to Jesus.