Luke 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Commissioning the Twelve
9 Summoning the Twelve,(A) He gave them power and authority over all the demons, and power to heal[a] diseases.(B) 2 Then He sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.(C)
3 “Take nothing for the road,”(D) He told them, “no walking stick,(E) no traveling bag, no bread, no money; and don’t take an extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there. 5 If they do not welcome you, when you leave that town, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”(F) 6 So they went out and traveled from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.
Herod’s Desire to See Jesus
7 Herod the tetrarch(G) heard about everything that was going on.(H) He was perplexed, because some said that John had been raised from the dead, 8 some that Elijah had appeared,(I) and others that one of the ancient prophets had risen.(J) 9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this I hear such things about?” And he wanted to see Him.(K)
Feeding 5,000
10 When the apostles returned,(L) they reported to Jesus all that they had done.(M) He took them along and withdrew privately to a[b] town called Bethsaida.(N) 11 When the crowds found out, they followed Him. He welcomed them,(O) spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and cured[c] those who needed healing.
12 Late in the day,[d](P) the Twelve approached and said to Him, “Send the crowd away,(Q) so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we are in a deserted place here.”
13 “You give them something to eat,” He told them.
“We have no more than five loaves(R) and two fish,” they said, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.” 14 (For about 5,000 men were there.)
Then He told His disciples, “Have them sit down[e] in groups of about 50 each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,(S) He blessed and broke them.(T) He kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up[f] 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
18 While He was praying in private(U) and His disciples were with Him, He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 They answered, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back.”[g](V)
20 “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah!”(W)
His Death and Resurrection Predicted
21 But He strictly warned and instructed them to tell this to no one,(X) 22 saying,(Y) “The Son of Man(Z) must suffer many things(AA) and be rejected(AB) by the elders, chief priests, and scribes,(AC) be killed, and be raised the third day.”(AD)
Take Up Your Cross
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone wants to come with[h] Me, he must deny himself,(AE) take up his cross daily,[i] and follow Me.(AF) 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.(AG) 25 What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?(AH) 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words,(AI) the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory(AJ) and that of the Father and the holy angels.(AK) 27 I tell you the truth: There are some standing here who will not taste death(AL) until they see the kingdom of God.”(AM)
The Transfiguration
28 About eight days after these words,(AN) He took along Peter, John, and James(AO) and went up on the mountain to pray.(AP) 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed,(AQ) and His clothes became dazzling white.(AR) 30 Suddenly, two men were talking with Him—Moses and Elijah. 31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of His death,[j] which He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem.
32 Peter and those with him were in a deep sleep,[k](AS) and when they became fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 As the two men were departing from Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master,(AT) it’s good for us to be here! Let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not knowing what he said.(AU)
34 While he was saying this, a cloud appeared and overshadowed(AV) them. They became afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then a voice came from the cloud,(AW) saying:
36 After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was found. They kept silent, and in those days told no one what they had seen.
The Power of Faith over a Demon
37 The next day,(BA) when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him. 38 Just then a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he’s my only child.(BB) 39 Often a spirit seizes him; suddenly he shrieks, and it throws him into convulsions until he foams at the mouth;[m] wounding[n] him, it hardly ever leaves him. 40 I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”(BC)
41 Jesus replied, “You unbelieving and rebellious[o] generation!(BD) How long will I be with you and put up with you?(BE) Bring your son here.”
42 As the boy was still approaching, the demon knocked him down and threw him into severe convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, cured the boy,(BF) and gave him back to his father.(BG) 43 And they were all astonished at the greatness of God.(BH)
The Second Prediction of His Death
While everyone was amazed at all the things He was doing,(BI) He told His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink in:[p] The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.”(BJ)
45 But they did not understand this statement;(BK) it was concealed from them so that they could not grasp it,(BL) and they were afraid to ask Him about it.[q]
Who Is the Greatest?
46 Then an argument started among them about who would be the greatest of them.(BM) 47 But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts,(BN) took a little child and had him stand next to Him. 48 He told them, “Whoever welcomes[r] this little child in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me welcomes Him who sent Me.(BO) For whoever is least among you—this one is great.”(BP)
In His Name
49 John responded,(BQ) “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name,(BR) and we tried to stop him because he does not follow us.”(BS)
50 “Don’t stop him,” Jesus told him, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”[s](BT)
The Journey to Jerusalem
51 When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up,[t](BU) He determined[u](BV) to journey to Jerusalem.(BW) 52 He sent messengers ahead of Him,(BX) and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans(BY) to make preparations for Him. 53 But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem.(BZ) 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”[v](CA)
55 But He turned and rebuked them,[w] 56 and they went to another village.
Following Jesus
57 As they were traveling on the road someone said to Him,(CB) “I will follow You wherever You go!”
58 Jesus told him, “Foxes have dens, and birds of the sky[x] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”
“Lord,” he said, “first let me go bury my father.”[y]
60 But He told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.”(CC)
61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to those at my house.”(CD)
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- Luke 9:1 In this passage, different Gk words are translated as heal. In Eng, “to heal” or “to cure” are synonyms with little distinction in meaning. Technically, we do not heal or cure diseases. People are healed or cured from diseases.
- Luke 9:10 Other mss add deserted place near a
- Luke 9:11 Or healed; in this passage, different Gk words are translated as heal. In Eng, “to heal” or “to cure” are synonyms with little distinction in meaning. Technically, we do not heal or cure diseases. People are healed or cured from diseases.
- Luke 9:12 Lit When the day began to decline
- Luke 9:14 Lit them recline
- Luke 9:17 Lit Then were picked up by them
- Luke 9:19 Lit has risen
- Luke 9:23 Lit come after
- Luke 9:23 Other mss omit daily
- Luke 9:31 Or departure; Gk exodus
- Luke 9:32 Lit were weighed down with sleep
- Luke 9:35 Other mss read the Beloved
- Luke 9:39 Lit convulsions with foam
- Luke 9:39 Or bruising, or mauling
- Luke 9:41 Or corrupt, or perverted, or twisted; Dt 32:5
- Luke 9:44 Lit Put these words in your ears
- Luke 9:45 Lit about this statement
- Luke 9:48 Or receives, throughout the verse
- Luke 9:50 Other mss read against us is for us
- Luke 9:51 His ascension
- Luke 9:51 Lit He stiffened His face to go; Is 50:7
- Luke 9:54 Other mss add as Elijah also did
- Luke 9:55 Other mss add and said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy people’s lives but to save them,”
- Luke 9:58 Wild birds, as opposed to domestic birds
- Luke 9:59 Not necessarily meaning his father was already dead
Luke 9
Amplified Bible
Ministry of the Twelve
9 Now Jesus called together the twelve [disciples] and gave them [the right to exercise] power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. 2 Then He sent them out [on a brief journey] to preach [a]the kingdom of God and to perform healing.(A) 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey [that might encumber you]—neither a walking stick, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two [b]tunics apiece. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city [to go to another]. 5 And as for all those who do not welcome you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet [breaking all ties with them] as a testimony against them [that they rejected My message].” 6 So they began going from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing the sick everywhere.
7 Now Herod [Antipas] the tetrarch [who governed a portion of Palestine including Galilee and Perea] heard about all that was being done [by Jesus], and he was thoroughly perplexed, because it was said by some that John [the Baptist whom he had ordered beheaded] had been raised from the dead,(B) 8 and by others that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the [other] prophets of old had been resurrected. 9 Herod said, “I personally had John beheaded. Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
10 When the apostles returned, they told Him all that they had done. He took them with Him and He privately withdrew [across the Jordan] to a city called Bethsaida.(C) 11 But when the crowds learned of it, they followed Him; and He welcomed them and He began talking to them about the kingdom of God, and healing those who needed to be healed.
Five Thousand Fed
12 Now the day was ending, and the twelve [disciples] came and said to Him, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging, and get provisions; because here we are in an isolated 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 perhaps we go and buy food for all these people.”(D) 14 (For there were [c]about 5,000 men.) And He said to His disciples, “Have them sit down to eat in groups of about fifty each.” 15 They did so, and had them all sit down. 16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 They all ate and were [completely] satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were [abundant and were] picked up—twelve baskets full.
18 Now it happened that as Jesus was praying privately, the disciples were with Him, and He asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”(E) 19 They answered, “John the Baptist, and some say, Elijah; but others, that one of the ancient prophets has come back to life.” 20 And He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “The Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) of God!” 21 But He strictly warned and admonished them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected [as the Messiah] by the elders and chief priests and scribes (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court), and be put to death, and on the third day be raised up [from death to life].”(F)
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. 25 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the [heavenly] Father and of the holy angels. 27 But I tell you truthfully, there are [d]some among those standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
The Transfiguration
28 Now about eight days after these teachings, He took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.(G) 29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. 33 And as these [men, Moses and Elijah] were leaving Him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is delightful and good for us to be here; we should make three [sacred] tents; one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—not realizing what he was saying. 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them; and they were [greatly] afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 Then [e]a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, My Chosen One; listen and obey and yield to Him!” 36 When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found there alone. And they kept silent, and told no one at that time any of the things which they had seen [concerning the divine manifestation].(H)
37 On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.(I) 38 And a man from the crowd shouted for help, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, because he is my only child; 39 and a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into a convulsion so that he foams at the mouth; and only with [great] difficulty does it leave him, mauling and bruising him as it leaves. 40 I begged Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].” 42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon slammed him down and threw him into a [violent] convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 They were all amazed [practically overwhelmed] at the [evidence of the] greatness of God and His majesty and His wondrous work.(J)
But while they were still awed by everything Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: the Son of Man is going to be betrayed and handed over to men [who are His enemies].” 45 However, they did not understand this statement. Its meaning was kept hidden from them so that they would not grasp it; and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
The Test of Greatness
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest [surpassing the others in esteem and authority].(K) 47 But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and had him stand beside Him, 48 and He told them, “Whoever welcomes this child in My name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me [also] welcomes Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you [that is, the one who is genuinely humble—the one with a realistic self-view]—he is the one who is [truly] great.”
49 John replied, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name; and we tried to stop him because he does not follow along with us.”(L) 50 But Jesus told him, “Do not stop him; for he who is not against you is for you.”(M)
51 Now when the time was approaching for Him to be taken up [to heaven], He was determined to go to Jerusalem [to fulfill His purpose]. 52 He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went into a Samaritan village to make arrangements for Him; 53 but the people would not welcome Him, [f]because He was traveling 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 destroy them?”(N) 55 But He turned and rebuked them [g][and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.”(O) 58 And Jesus told him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” 59 He said to another, “Follow Me [accepting Me as Master and Teacher].” But he said, “Lord, allow me first to go and [h]bury my father.”(P) 60 But He said to him, “Allow the [spiritually] dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and spread the news about the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord [as Your disciple]; but first let me say goodbye to those at my home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Footnotes
- Luke 9:2 Jesus as Israel’s Messiah.
- Luke 9:3 Simple slip-on garments made with or without sleeves, usually knee length and worn as either an under or outer garment in ancient times.
- Luke 9:14 The women and children were not included in this estimate.
- Luke 9:27 Perhaps a reference to Peter, John, and James who were to witness the transfiguration a few days later.
- Luke 9:35 See note Matt 3:17.
- Luke 9:53 Because of the religious conflict between Samaritans and Jews, the people of Samaria were generally inhospitable to Jews and did not offer overnight accommodations to those who were traveling to Jerusalem to participate in religious events.
- Luke 9:55 Late mss add this to v 55 and continue into v 56.
- Luke 9:59 See note Matt 8:21.
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