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.
Matthew 9
International Standard Version
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
9 After getting into a boat, Jesus[a] crossed to the other side and came to his own city. 2 All at once some people[b] brought him a paralyzed man lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he told the paralyzed man, “Be courageous, son! Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Then some of the scribes told themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”
4 But Jesus, knowing[c] what they were thinking, replied, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so you will know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” he told the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home!”
7 So the man[d] got up and went home. 8 When the crowds saw this, they became frightened[e] and glorified God for giving such authority to humans.
Jesus Calls Matthew(B)
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s desk and told him, “Follow me.” So he got up and followed him.
10 While he was having dinner at Matthew’s[f] home, many tax collectors and sinners arrived and began eating with Jesus and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees saw this and asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus[g] heard that, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a physician, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’[h] because I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners.”
A Question about Fasting(C)
14 Then John’s disciples came to Jesus[i] and asked, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often,[j] but your disciples don’t fast?”
15 Jesus asked them, “The wedding guests[k] can’t mourn as long as the groom is with them, can they? But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”
The Unshrunk Cloth(D)
16 “No one patches an old garment with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 Nor do people[l] pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Jesus Heals a Woman and Resurrects a Girl(E)
18 While Jesus[m] was telling them these things, an official came up and fell down before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 So Jesus got up and followed him, along with his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel of his garment, 21 because she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch his robe, I will get well.”
22 When Jesus turned and saw her, he said, “Be courageous, daughter! Your faith has made you well.” And from that very hour the woman was well.
23 When Jesus came to the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The young lady hasn’t died, but is sleeping.” But they ridiculed him with laughter. 25 When the crowd had been driven outside, he went in, took her by the hand, and the young lady got up. 26 The news of this spread throughout that land.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus was traveling on from there, two blind men followed him, shouting, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When he had gone into the house, the blind men came to him.
Jesus asked them, “Do you believe I can do this?”
They told him, “Yes, Lord!”[n]
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done for you!” 30 And their eyes were opened. Then Jesus sternly told them, “See to it that nobody knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news about him throughout that region.
Jesus Heals a Man who Couldn’t Talk
32 As the men[o] were going out, a man who couldn’t talk because he was demon-possessed was brought to him. 33 As soon as the demon had been driven out, the man[p] began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees kept saying, “He drives out demons by the ruler of demons.”[q]
The Compassion of Jesus
35 Then Jesus began traveling throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he was deeply moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
37 Then he told his disciples, “The harvest is vast, but the workers are few. 38 So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 9:1 Lit. he
- Matthew 9:2 Lit. they
- Matthew 9:4 Lit. saw
- Matthew 9:7 Lit. he
- Matthew 9:8 Other mss. read they were amazed
- Matthew 9:10 Lit. the
- Matthew 9:12 Lit. he
- Matthew 9:13 Cf. Hos 6:6
- Matthew 9:14 Lit. him
- Matthew 9:14 Other mss. lack often
- Matthew 9:15 Lit. The children of the wedding hall; or The children of the groom
- Matthew 9:17 Lit. they
- Matthew 9:18 Lit. he
- Matthew 9:28 Or Sir
- Matthew 9:32 Lit. As they
- Matthew 9:33 Lit. the man who couldn’t talk
- Matthew 9:34 Other mss. lack this verse
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
