Mark 2
New King James Version
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic(A)
2 And again (B)He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. 2 [a]Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. 3 Then they came to Him, bringing a (C)paralytic who was carried by four men. 4 And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? (D)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 (E)Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has [b]power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, 11 “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 12 Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and (F)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Matthew the Tax Collector(G)
13 (H)Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them. 14 (I)As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, (J)“Follow Me.” So he arose and (K)followed Him.
15 (L)Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi’s house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him. 16 And when the scribes [c]and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them, (M)“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, [d]to repentance.”
Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(N)
18 (O)The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, “Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
19 And Jesus said to them, “Can the [e]friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. 20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be (P)taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath(Q)
23 (R)Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began (S)to pluck the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is (T)not lawful on the Sabbath?”
25 But He said to them, “Have you never read (U)what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: 26 how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, (V)which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”
27 And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the (W)Sabbath. 28 Therefore (X)the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2
New Life Version
Jesus Heals a Man Who Was Let Down through the Roof of a House (A)
2 After some days Jesus went back to the city of Capernaum. Then news got around that He was home. 2 Soon many people gathered there. There was no more room, not even at the door. He spoke the Word of God to them. 3 Four men came to Jesus carrying a man who could not move his body. 4 These men could not get near Jesus because of so many people. They made a hole in the roof of the house over where Jesus stood. Then they let down the bed with the sick man on it.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the sick man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Some teachers of the Law were sitting there. They thought to themselves, 7 “Why does this Man talk like this? He is speaking as if He is God! Who can forgive sins? Only One can forgive sins and that is God!”
8 At once Jesus knew the teachers of the Law were thinking this. He said to them, “Why do you think this in your hearts? 9 Which is easier to say to the sick man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your bed, and start to walk?’ 10 I am doing this so you may know the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” He said to the sick man who could not move his body, 11 “I say to you, ‘Get up. Take your bed and go to your home.’” 12 At once the sick man got up and took his bed and went away. Everybody saw him. They were all surprised and wondered about it. They thanked God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Calls Matthew (B)
13 Jesus walked along the sea-shore again. Many people came together and He taught them. 14 He walked farther and saw Levi (Matthew) the son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at his work gathering taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Levi got up and followed Him.
Jesus Eats with Tax-Gatherers and Sinners
15 Jesus ate in Levi’s house. Many men who gather taxes and others who were sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His followers. There were many following Him. 16 The teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers saw Jesus eat with men who gather taxes and others who were sinners. They said to His followers, “Why does He eat and drink with men who gather taxes and with sinners?” 17 Jesus heard it and said to them, “People who are well do not need a doctor. Only those who are sick need a doctor. I have not come to call those who are right with God. I have come to call those who are sinners.”
Jesus Teaches about Going without Food So You Can Pray Better (C)
18 The followers of John and the proud religious law-keepers were not eating food so they could pray better. Some people came to Jesus and said, “Why do the followers of John and the proud religious law-keepers go without food so they can pray better, but Your followers do not?” 19 Jesus said to them, “Can the friends at a wedding go without food when the man just married is with them? As long as they have him with them, they will not go without food. 20 The days will come when the man just married will be taken from them. Then they will not eat food so they can pray better. 21 No man sews a piece of new cloth on an old coat. If it comes off, it will make the hole bigger. 22 No man puts new wine into old skin bags. The skin would break and the wine would run out. The bags would be no good. New wine must be put into new skin bags.”
Jesus Teaches about the Day of Rest (D)
23 At that time Jesus walked through the grain-fields on the Day of Rest. As they went, His followers began to take some of the grain. 24 The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, “See! Why are they doing what the Law says should not be done on the Day of Rest?” 25 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? 26 He went into the house of God when Abiathar was head religious leader of the Jews. He ate the special bread used in the religious worship. The Law says only the Jewish religious leaders may eat that. David gave some to those who were with him also.” 27 Jesus said to them, “The Day of Rest was made for the good of man. Man was not made for the Day of Rest. 28 The Son of Man is Lord of the Day of Rest also.”
Mark 2
International Standard Version
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
2 Several days later, Jesus[a] returned to Capernaum and it was reported that he was at home. 2 Such a large crowd gathered that there wasn’t room for them, even in front of the door. Jesus[b] was speaking his message to them 3 when some people[c] came and brought him a paralyzed man being carried by four men. 4 Since they couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the place where he was. They dug through it and let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some scribes were sitting there, arguing among themselves,[d] 7 “Why does this man talk this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 At once, Jesus knew in his spirit what they were saying to themselves. “Why are you arguing about such things among yourselves?”[e] he asked them. 9 “Which is easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’? 10 But I want you to know[f] that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he told the paralyzed man, 11 “I say to you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home!” 12 So the man[g] got up, immediately picked up his mat, and went out in front of all of them.
As a result, all of the people were amazed and began to glorify God as they kept on saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus Calls Matthew(B)
13 Jesus[h] went out again beside the sea. The whole crowd kept coming to him, and he kept teaching them. 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax collector’s desk. Jesus[i] told him, “Follow me!” So Levi[j] got up and followed him.
15 Later, he was having dinner at Levi’s[k] house. Many tax collectors and sinners were also eating with Jesus and his disciples, because there were many who were following him. 16 When the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink[l] with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard that, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick ones do. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(C)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees would fast regularly. Some people[m] came and asked Jesus,[n] “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees’ disciples fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”
19 Jesus replied, “The wedding guests[o] can’t fast while the groom is with them, can they? As long as they have the groom with them, they can’t fast. 20 But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(D)
21 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth. If he does, the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will make the skins burst, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured[p] into fresh wineskins.”
Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath(E)
23 Jesus[q] happened to be going through the grain fields on a Sabbath.[r] As they made their way, his disciples began picking the heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look! Why are they doing what is not lawful on Sabbath days?”[s]
25 He asked them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 How was it that he went into the House of God during the lifetime[t] of Abiathar the high priest and ate the Bread of the Presence, which was not lawful for anyone but the priests to eat, and gave some of it to his companions?”
27 Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. 28 Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Footnotes
- Mark 2:1 Lit. he
- Mark 2:2 Lit. He
- Mark 2:3 Lit. they
- Mark 2:6 Lit. in their hearts
- Mark 2:8 Lit. in your hearts
- Mark 2:10 Lit. So that you will know
- Mark 2:12 Lit. he
- Mark 2:13 Lit. He
- Mark 2:14 Lit. He
- Mark 2:14 Lit. he
- Mark 2:15 Lit. his
- Mark 2:16 Other mss. lack and drink
- Mark 2:18 Lit. They
- Mark 2:18 Lit. him
- Mark 2:19 Lit. The children of the wedding hall; or The children of the groom
- Mark 2:22 The Gk. lacks is poured
- Mark 2:23 Lit. He
- Mark 2:23 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Mark 2:24 Lit. on the Sabbaths
- Mark 2:26 The Gk. lacks the lifetime
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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