Luke 5
Good News Translation
Jesus Calls the First Disciples(A)
5 (B)One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God. 2 He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats—it belonged to Simon—and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.
4 When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch.”
5 (C)“Master,” Simon answered, “we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 (D)They let them down and caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break. 7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that the boats were about to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man!”
9 He and the others with him were all amazed at the large number of fish they had caught. 10 The same was true of Simon's partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, “Don't be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”
11 They pulled the boats up on the beach, left everything, and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Man(E)
12 Once Jesus was in a town where there was a man who was suffering from a dreaded skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he threw himself down and begged him, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!”[a]
13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I do want to,” he answered. “Be clean!” At once the disease left the man. 14 (F)Jesus ordered him, “Don't tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then to prove to everyone that you are cured, offer the sacrifice as Moses ordered.”
15 But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases. 16 But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(G)
17 One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus. 19 Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, “Your sins are forgiven, my friend.”
21 The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!”
22 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Why do you think such things? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!”
25 At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God. 26 They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, “What marvelous things we have seen today!”
Jesus Calls Levi(H)
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 28 Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 Then Levi had a big feast in his house for Jesus, and among the guests was a large number of tax collectors and other people. 30 (I)Some Pharisees and some teachers of the Law who belonged to their group complained to Jesus' disciples. “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and other outcasts?” they asked.
31 Jesus answered them, “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts.”
The Question about Fasting(J)
33 Some people said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but your disciples eat and drink.”
34 Jesus answered, “Do you think you can make the guests at a wedding party go without food as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! 35 But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
36 Jesus also told them this parable: “You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat. If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old. 37 Nor do you pour new wine into used wineskins, because the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins! 39 And you don't want new wine after drinking old wine. ‘The old is better,’ you say.”
Footnotes
- Luke 5:12 This disease was considered to make a person ritually unclean.
Luke 5
International Children’s Bible
Jesus’ First Followers
5 One day Jesus was standing beside Lake Galilee. Many people were pressing all around him. They wanted to hear the word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the shore of the lake. The fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Jesus got into one of the boats, the one which belonged to Simon.[a] Jesus asked Simon to push off a little from the land. Then Jesus sat down in the boat and continued to teach the people on the shore.
4 When Jesus had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Take the boat into deep water. If you will put your nets in the water, you will catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night trying to catch fish, but we caught nothing. But you say to put the nets in the water; so I will.” 6 The fishermen did as Jesus told them. And they caught so many fish that the nets began to break. 7 They called to their friends in the other boat to come and help them. The friends came, and both boats were filled so full that they were almost sinking.
8-9 The fishermen were all amazed at the many fish they caught. When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he bowed down before Jesus and said, “Go away from me, Lord. I am a sinful man!” 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were amazed too. (James and John were Simon’s partners.)
Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will be fishermen for men.” 11 When the men brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed Jesus.
Jesus Heals a Sick Man
12 One time Jesus was in a town where a very sick man lived. The man was covered with a harmful skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he bowed before Jesus and begged him, “Lord, heal me. I know you can if you want to.”
13 Jesus said, “I want to. Be healed!” And Jesus touched the man. Immediately the disease disappeared. 14 Then Jesus said, “Don’t tell anyone about what happened. But go show yourself to the priest.[b] And offer a gift to God for your healing as Moses commanded.[c] This will prove to everyone that you are healed.”
15 But the news about Jesus was spreading more and more. Many people came to hear Jesus and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus often slipped away to other places to be alone so that he could pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
17 One day Jesus was teaching the people. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were there, too. They had come from every town in Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. The Lord was giving Jesus the power to heal people. 18 There was a man who was paralyzed. Some men were carrying him on a mat. They tried to bring him in and put him down before Jesus. 19 But because there were so many people there, they could not find a way to Jesus. So the men went up on the roof and made a hole in the ceiling. They lowered the mat so that the paralyzed man was lying right before Jesus. 20 Jesus saw that these men believed. So he said to the sick man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Jewish teachers of the law and the Pharisees thought to themselves, “Who is this man? He is saying things that are against God! Only God can forgive sins.”
22 But Jesus knew what they were thinking. He said, “Why do you have thoughts like that in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up! Take your mat and go home.”
25 Then the man stood up before the people there. He picked up his mat and went home, praising God. 26 All the people were fully amazed and began to praise God. They were filled with much respect and said, “Today we have seen amazing things!”
Levi Follows Jesus
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me!” 28 Levi got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.
29 Then Levi gave a big dinner for Jesus. The dinner was at Levi’s house. At the table there were many tax collectors and other people, too. 30 But the Pharisees and the men who taught the law for the Pharisees began to complain to the followers of Jesus. They said, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. It is the sick who need a doctor. 32 I have not come to invite good people. I have come to invite sinners to change their hearts and lives!”
Jesus Answers a Question
33 They said to Jesus, “John’s followers often give up eating[d] and pray, just as the Pharisees do. But your followers eat and drink all the time.”
34 Jesus said to them, “When there is a wedding, you cannot make the friends of the bridegroom give up eating while he is still with them. 35 But the time will come when he will be taken away from them. Then his friends will give up eating.”
36 Jesus told them this story: “No one takes cloth off a new coat to cover a hole in an old coat. If he does, he ruins the new coat, and the cloth from the new coat will not be the same as the old cloth. 37 People never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the new wine will break the bags, and the wine will spill out. Then the leather bags for holding wine will be ruined. 38 People always put new wine into new leather bags. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants new wine because he says, ‘The old wine is better.’”
Footnotes
- 5:3 Simon Simon’s other name was Peter.
- 5:14 show . . . priest The law of Moses said a priest must say when a Jew with a harmful skin disease was well.
- 5:14 Moses commanded Read about this in Leviticus 14:1–32.
- 5:33 give up eating This is called “fasting.” The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness.
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.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
