Luke 5:1-6:16

Modern English Version

The Calling of the First Disciples^(A)

5 As the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret ² and saw two boats beside the lake. But the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. ³ He entered one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to thrust it out a little from the land. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ Simon answered Him, “Master, we have worked all night and have caught nothing. But at Your word I will let down the net.”

⁶ When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was tearing. ⁷ So they signaled to 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 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” ⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not fear. From now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him.

The Cleansing of a Leper^(B)

¹² When He was in a certain city, a man full of leprosy, upon seeing Jesus, fell on his face and begged Him, “Lord, if You will, You can make me clean.”

¹³ He reached out His hand and touched him, saying, “I will. Be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴ Then He commanded him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

¹⁵ Yet even more so His fame went everywhere. And great crowds came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. ¹⁶ But He withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.

The Healing of a Paralytic^(C)

¹⁷ On a certain day, as He was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal the sick. ¹⁸ Now some men brought in a bed a man who was paralyzed. They searched for ways to bring him in and lay him before Him. ¹⁹ When they could not find a way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his bed into their midst before Jesus.

²⁰ When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

²¹ The scribes and the Pharisees began to question, “Who is He who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² When Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered them, “Why question in your hearts? ²³ Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the paralyzed man, “I say to you, rise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ²⁵ Immediately he rose before them, and took up that on which he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. ²⁶ They were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen wonderful things today.”

The Calling of Levi^(D)

²⁷ After these things He went out and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax collector’s station. He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ And he left everything, rose up, and followed Him.

²⁹ Then Levi made Him a great feast in his house. And there was a group of many tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ³⁰ But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

The Question About Fasting^(E)

³³ They said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?”

³⁴ He said to them, “Can you make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? ³⁵ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. Then in those days they will fast.”

³⁶ He told them a parable also: “No one sews a piece of a new material on an old one. Otherwise the new would tear, for the new piece does not match the old. ³⁷ And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be spilled, and the wineskins will be destroyed. ³⁸ But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. ³⁹ And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new. For he says, ‘The old is better.’ ”

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath^(F)

6 On the second Sabbath after the first, He went through the grain fields, and His disciples plucked and ate the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. ² Some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³ Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he and those who were with him were hungry? ⁴ He went into the house of God, and took and ate the ritual bread, and also gave it to those who were with him. This was not lawful, but for the priests only to eat.” ⁵ Then He said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

The Man With a Withered Hand^(G)

⁶ On another Sabbath, when He entered the synagogue and taught, there was a man whose right hand had withered. ⁷ The scribes and the Pharisees watched Him to see whether He would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him. ⁸ But He knew their thoughts, and He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Rise and stand in front.” So he rose and stood in front.

⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

¹⁰ Then looking around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with madness and discussed with each other what they might do to Jesus.

The Choosing of the Twelve Apostles^(H)

¹² In these days He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ When it was day, He called for His disciples, and of them He chose twelve, whom He named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John, and Philip and Bartholomew, ¹⁵ and Matthew and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, ¹⁶ and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.