Luke 5
English Standard Version
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
5 On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by (A)the lake of Gennesaret, 2 (B)and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were (C)washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And (D)he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, (E)“Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, (F)we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, (G)they enclosed a large number of fish, and (H)their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. (I)And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, (J)“Depart from me, for (K)I am a sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished 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. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”[a] 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, (L)they left everything and followed him.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
12 While he was in one of the cities, (M)there came a man full of leprosy.[b] And when he saw Jesus, he (N)fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, (O)if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus[c] stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him (P)to tell no one, but “go and show (Q)yourself to the priest, and (R)make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, (S)for a proof to them.” 15 (T)But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. 16 But (U)he would withdraw to desolate places and (V)pray.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
17 On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and (W)teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And (X)the power of the Lord was with him to heal.[d] 18 (Y)And behold, some men were bringing (Z)on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on (AA)the roof and let him down with his bed (AB)through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. 20 And (AC)when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, (AD)your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks (AE)blasphemies? (AF)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus (AG)perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24 But that you may know that (AH)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” 25 And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, (AI)glorifying God. 26 And amazement seized them all, and they (AJ)glorified God and were filled (AK)with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
Jesus Calls Levi
27 (AL)After this he went out and saw (AM)a tax collector named (AN)Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And (AO)leaving everything, he rose and followed him.
29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company (AP)of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. 30 And the Pharisees and (AQ)their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, (AR)“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 (AS)I have not come to call the righteous (AT)but sinners (AU)to repentance.”
A Question About Fasting
33 And they said to him, (AV)“The disciples of John (AW)fast often and (AX)offer prayers, (AY)and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, (AZ)“Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 (BA)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and (BB)then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old (BC)wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”[e]
Luke 5
Living Bible
5 One day as he was preaching on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the Word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats standing at the water’s edge while the fishermen washed their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push out a little into the water, so that he could sit in the boat and speak to the crowds from there.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!”
5 “Sir,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, we’ll try again.”
6 And this time their nets were so full that they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.
8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, sir, please leave us—I’m too much of a sinner for you to have around.” 9 For he was awestruck by the size of their catch, as were the others with him, 10 and his partners too—James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus replied, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for the souls of men!”
11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and went with him.
12 One day in a certain village he was visiting, there was a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell to the ground before him, face downward in the dust, begging to be healed.
“Sir,” he said, “if you only will, you can clear me of every trace of my disease.”
13 Jesus reached out and touched the man and said, “Of course I will. Be healed.” And the leprosy left him instantly! 14 Then Jesus instructed him to go at once without telling anyone what had happened and be examined by the Jewish priest. “Offer the sacrifice Moses’ law requires for lepers who are healed,” he said. “This will prove to everyone that you are well.” 15 Now the report of his power spread even faster and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But he often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
17 One day while he was teaching, some Jewish religious leaders[a] and teachers of the Law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was upon him.
18-19 Then—look! Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus but couldn’t reach him. So they went up on the roof above him, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his sleeping mat, right in front of Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven!”
21 “Who does this fellow think he is?” the Pharisees and teachers of the Law exclaimed among themselves. “This is blasphemy! Who but God can forgive sins?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he replied, “Why is it blasphemy? 23-24 I, the Messiah,[b] have the authority on earth to forgive sins. But talk is cheap—anybody could say that. So I’ll prove it to you by healing this man.” Then, turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, “Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed!”
25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped to his feet, picked up his mat and went home praising God! 26 Everyone present was gripped with awe and fear. And they praised God, remarking over and over again, “We have seen strange things today.”
27 Later on as Jesus left the town he saw a tax collector—with the usual reputation for cheating—sitting at a tax collection booth. The man’s name was Levi. Jesus said to him, “Come and be one of my disciples!” 28 So Levi left everything, sprang up, and went with him.
29 Soon Levi held a reception in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests were there.
30 But the Pharisees and teachers of the Law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples about his eating with such notorious sinners.
31 Jesus answered them, “It is the sick who need a doctor, not those in good health. 32 My purpose is to invite sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think themselves already good enough.”
33 Their next complaint was that Jesus’ disciples were feasting instead of fasting. “John the Baptist’s disciples are constantly going without food and praying,” they declared, “and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are yours wining and dining?”
34 Jesus asked, “Do happy men fast? Do wedding guests go hungry while celebrating with the groom? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be killed;[c] then they won’t want to eat.”
36 Then Jesus used this illustration: “No one tears off a piece of a new garment to make a patch for an old one. Not only will the new garment be ruined, but the old garment will look worse with a new patch on it! 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the new wine bursts the old skins, ruining the skins and spilling the wine. 38 New wine must be put into new wineskins. 39 But no one after drinking the old wine seems to want the fresh and the new. ‘The old ways are best,’ they say.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.