Matthew 9
Young's Literal Translation
9 And having gone to the boat, he passed over, and came to his own city,
2 and lo, they were bringing to him a paralytic, laid upon a couch, and Jesus having seen their faith, said to the paralytic, `Be of good courage, child, thy sins have been forgiven thee.'
3 And lo, certain of the scribes said within themselves, `This one doth speak evil.'
4 And Jesus, having known their thoughts, said, `Why think ye evil in your hearts?
5 for which is easier? to say, The sins have been forgiven to thee; or to say, Rise, and walk?
6 `But, that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon the earth to forgive sins -- (then saith he to the paralytic) -- having risen, take up thy couch, and go to thy house.'
7 And he, having risen, went to his house,
8 and the multitudes having seen, wondered, and glorified God, who did give such power to men.
9 And Jesus passing by thence, saw a man sitting at the tax-office, named Matthew, and saith to him, `Be following me,' and he, having risen, did follow him.
10 And it came to pass, he reclining (at meat) in the house, that lo, many tax-gatherers and sinners having come, were lying (at meat) with Jesus and his disciples,
11 and the Pharisees having seen, said to his disciples, `Wherefore with the tax-gatherers and sinners doth your teacher eat?'
12 And Jesus having heard, said to them, `They who are whole have no need of a physician, but they who are ill;
13 but having gone, learn ye what is, Kindness I will, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call righteous men, but sinners, to reformation.'
14 Then come to him do the disciples of John, saying, `Wherefore do we and the Pharisees fast much, and thy disciples fast not?'
15 And Jesus said to them, `Can the sons of the bride-chamber mourn, so long as the bridegroom is with them? but days shall come when the bridegroom may be taken from them, and then they shall fast.
16 `And no one doth put a patch of undressed cloth on an old garment, for its filling up doth take from the garment, and a worse rent is made.
17 `Nor do they put new wine into old skins, and if not -- the skins burst, and the wine doth run out, and the skins are destroyed, but they put new wine into new skins, and both are preserved together.'
18 While he is speaking these things to them, lo, a ruler having come, was bowing to him, saying that `My daughter just now died, but, having come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.'
19 And Jesus having risen, did follow him, also his disciples,
20 and lo, a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, having come to him behind, did touch the fringe of his garments,
21 for she said within herself, `If only I may touch his garment, I shall be saved.'
22 And Jesus having turned about, and having seen her, said, `Be of good courage, daughter, thy faith hath saved thee,' and the woman was saved from that hour.
23 And Jesus having come to the house of the ruler, and having seen the minstrels and the multitude making tumult,
24 he saith to them, `Withdraw, for the damsel did not die, but doth sleep,' and they were deriding him;
25 but, when the multitude was put forth, having gone in, he took hold of her hand, and the damsel arose,
26 and the fame of this went forth to all the land.
27 And Jesus passing on thence, two blind men followed him, calling and saying, `Deal kindly with us, Son of David.'
28 And he having come to the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus saith to them, `Believe ye that I am able to do this?' They say to him, `Yes, sir.'
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, `According to your faith let it be to you,'
30 and their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, `See, let no one know;'
31 but they, having gone forth, did spread his fame in all that land.
32 And as they are coming forth, lo, they brought to him a man dumb, a demoniac,
33 and the demon having been cast out, the dumb spake, and the multitude did wonder, saying that `It was never so seen in Israel:'
34 but the Pharisees said, `By the ruler of the demons he doth cast out the demons.'
35 And Jesus was going up and down all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the reign, and healing every sickness and every malady among the people.
36 And having seen the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, that they were faint and cast aside, as sheep not having a shepherd,
37 then saith he to his disciples, `The harvest indeed [is] abundant, but the workmen few;
38 beseech ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he may put forth workmen to His harvest.'
Matthew 9
New Century Version
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 and lying on a mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘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 authority 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 When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
10 As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’[b] I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
14 Then the followers of John[c] came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast[d] for a certain time, but your followers don’t?”
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 be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old coat. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat, making the hole worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the 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 both 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 leader of the synagogue came to him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.” 19 So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.
23 Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There he saw the funeral musicians and many people crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of 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, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 After Jesus went inside, 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, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them 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 After Jesus forced the demon to leave the man, he 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 prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 Pray to the Lord, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to gather his harvest.”[e]
Footnotes
- 9:3 blasphemy Saying things against God or not showing respect for 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 fast The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness and disappointment.
- 9:37–38 “There are . . . harvest.” As a farmer sends workers to harvest the grain, Jesus sends his followers to bring people to God.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
