A Paralytic Healed

2 And when he^[a] entered again into Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. ² And many had gathered, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them. ³ And they came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. ⁴ And when^[b] they were not able to bring him^[c] to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. And after^[d] digging through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. ⁵ And when^[e] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”

⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, said to them, “Why are you considering these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and walk’? ¹⁰ But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,”—he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher, and go to your home.” ¹² And he got up and immediately picked up his^[f] stretcher and^[g] went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything^[h] like this!”

Levi Called to Follow Jesus

¹³ And he went out again beside the sea,^[i] and all the crowd was coming to him, and he began to teach^[j] them. ¹⁴ And as he^[k] was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and^[l] followed him.

¹⁵ And it happened that he was dining^[m] in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with^[n] Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him. ¹⁶ And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they^[o] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say^[p] to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ And when^[q] Jesus heard it^[r], he said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.^[s] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

On Fasting

¹⁸ And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “Why^[t] do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants^[u] are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they?^[v] As long a time as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast. ²⁰ But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. ²¹ No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. Otherwise^[w] the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear becomes worse. ²² And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise^[x] the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins too. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”

Plucking Grain on the Sabbath

²³ And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while^[y] plucking off the heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees began to say^[z] to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry— ²⁶ how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it^[aa] to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And he said to them, “The Sabbath was established for people, and not people for the Sabbath. ²⁸ So then, the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”