Matthew 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Son of Man Forgives and Heals
9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.(A) 2 Just then(B) some men[a] brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.”(C)
3 At this, some of the scribes said among themselves, “He’s blaspheming!”(D)
4 But perceiving their thoughts,(E) Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts?[b] 5 For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He told the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” 7 And he got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck[c][d] and gave glory(F) to God who had given such authority to men.
The Call of Matthew
9 As Jesus went on from there,(G) He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, “Follow Me!” So he got up and followed Him.(H)
10 While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat[e] with Jesus and His disciples.(I) 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”(J)
12 But when He heard this, He said, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do.(K) 13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.(L)[f] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[g]
A Question about Fasting
14 Then John’s disciples came to Him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?”(M)
15 Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests[h] be sad while the groom is with them? The time[i] will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old garment with unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment and makes the tear worse. 17 And no one puts[j] new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed
18 As He was telling them these things,(N) suddenly one of the leaders[k] came and knelt down before Him, saying, “My daughter is near death,[l] but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.”(O) 19 So Jesus and His disciples got up and followed(P) him.
20 Just then, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached from behind and touched the tassel on His robe,(Q) 21 for she said to herself, “If I can just touch His robe, I’ll be made well!”[m](R)
22 But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.”[n](S) And the woman was made well from that moment.[o]
23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house, He saw the flute players and a crowd lamenting loudly.(T) 24 “Leave,” He said, “because the girl isn’t dead, but sleeping.”(U) And they started laughing at Him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.(V) 26 And this news spread throughout that whole area.(W)
Healing the Blind
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”(X)
28 When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe(Y) that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they answered Him.
29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith!” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus warned them sternly, “Be sure that no one finds out!”[p](Z) 31 But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout that whole area.
Driving Out a Demon
32 Just as they were going out, a demon-possessed man who was unable to speak was brought to Him.(AA) 33 When the demon had been driven out, the man[q] spoke. And the crowds were amazed, saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!”(AB)
The Lord of the Harvest
35 Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom,(AC) and healing every[r] disease and every sickness.[s] 36 When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out,(AD) like sheep without a shepherd.(AE) 37 Then He said to His disciples,(AF) “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 9:2 Lit then they
- Matthew 9:4 Or minds
- Matthew 9:8 Other mss read amazed
- Matthew 9:8 Lit afraid
- Matthew 9:10 Lit came, they were reclining (at the table); at important meals the custom was to recline on a mat at a low table and lean on the left elbow.
- Matthew 9:13 Hs 6:6
- Matthew 9:13 Other mss add to repentance
- Matthew 9:15 Lit the sons of the bridal chamber
- Matthew 9:15 Lit days
- Matthew 9:17 Lit And they do not put
- Matthew 9:18 A leader of a synagogue; Mk 5:22
- Matthew 9:18 Lit daughter has now come to the end
- Matthew 9:21 Or be delivered
- Matthew 9:22 Or has saved you
- Matthew 9:22 Lit hour
- Matthew 9:30 Lit no one knows
- Matthew 9:33 Lit the man who was unable to speak
- Matthew 9:35 Or every kind of
- Matthew 9:35 Other mss add among the people
Matthew 9
International Children’s Bible
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed. The man was lying on his mat. Jesus saw that these people had great faith, so he said to the paralyzed man, “Be happy, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law heard this. They said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God—that is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up. Take your mat and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 The people saw this and were amazed. They praised God for giving power like this to men.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was sitting in the tax office. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” And Matthew stood up and followed Jesus.
10 Jesus had dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 The Pharisees saw this and asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
12 Jesus heard the Pharisees ask this. So he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor. Only the sick need a doctor. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices.’[b] I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Jews
14 Then the followers of John[c] came to Jesus. They said to Jesus, “We and the Pharisees often give up eating.[d] But your followers don’t. Why?”
15 Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will leave them. Then his friends are sad, and they will give up eating.
16 “When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, he never uses a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags for holding wine. If they do, the old bags will break. The wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then the wine and the wine bags will continue to be good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18 While Jesus was saying these things, a ruler of the synagogue came to him. The ruler bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and touch her with your hand, and she will live again.”
19 So Jesus stood up and went with the ruler. Jesus’ followers went too.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for 12 years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can touch his coat, then I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman. He said, “Be happy, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed at once.
23 Jesus continued along with the ruler and went into the ruler’s house. Jesus saw people there who play music for funerals. And he saw many people there crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead. She is only asleep.” But the people laughed at Jesus. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went into the girl’s room. He took her hand, and she stood up. 26 The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Show kindness to us, Son of David!”
28 Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again. So this will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them very strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33 Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the man who couldn’t talk was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The leader of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages. He taught in their synagogues and told people the Good News about the kingdom. And he healed all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 He saw the crowds of people and felt sorry for them because they were worried and helpless. They were like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 God owns the harvest. Pray to him that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest.”[e]
Footnotes
- 9:3 blasphemy Saying things against God.
- 9:13 ‘I want . . . sacrifices.’ Quotation from Hosea 6:6.
- 9:14 John John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3; Luke 3).
- 9:14 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.
- 9:37-38 “There are . . . harvest.” As a farmer sends workers to harvest the grain, Jesus sends his followers to bring people to God.
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The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
