Luke 8
New King James Version
Many Women Minister to Jesus
8 Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and [a]bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and (A)certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and [b]infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, (B)out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for [c]Him from their [d]substance.
The Parable of the Sower(C)
4 (D)And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded [e]a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, (E)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables(F)
9 (G)Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the [f]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
(H)‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’
The Parable of the Sower Explained(I)
11 (J)“Now the parable is this: The seed is the (K)word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of [g]temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, (L)riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with (M)patience.[h]
The Parable of the Revealed Light(N)
16 (O)“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the (P)light. 17 (Q)For nothing is secret that will not be (R)revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. (S)For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he [i]seems to (T)have will be taken from him.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Come to Him(U)
19 (V)Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”
21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
Wind and Wave Obey Jesus(W)
22 (X)Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out. 23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in [j]jeopardy. 24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!”
Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm. 25 But He said to them, (Y)“Where is your faith?”
And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, (Z)“Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
A Demon-Possessed Man Healed(AA)
26 (AB)Then they sailed to the country of the [k]Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons [l]for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he (AC)cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, (AD)“What have I to do with (AE)You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out (AF)into the abyss.
32 Now a herd of many (AG)swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.
34 When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, (AH)sitting at the (AI)feet of Jesus, clothed and in his (AJ)right mind. And they were afraid. 36 They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was [m]healed. 37 (AK)Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the [n]Gadarenes (AL)asked Him to (AM)depart from them, for they were seized with great (AN)fear. And He got into the boat and returned.
38 Now (AO)the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed
40 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 (AP)And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she (AQ)was dying.
But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 (AR)Now a woman, having a (AS)flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and (AT)touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter [o]and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, [p]and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived (AU)power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, [q]be of good cheer; (AV)your faith has made you well. (AW)Go in peace.”
49 (AX)While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the [r]Teacher.”
50 But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; (AY)only believe, and she will be made well.” 51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go [s]in except [t]Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, (AZ)“Do not weep; she is not dead, (BA)but sleeping.” 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But He [u]put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, (BB)arise.” 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but (BC)He charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Footnotes
- Luke 8:1 proclaiming the good news
- Luke 8:2 sicknesses
- Luke 8:3 NU, M them
- Luke 8:3 possessions
- Luke 8:8 Lit. fruit
- Luke 8:10 secret or hidden truths
- Luke 8:13 testing
- Luke 8:15 endurance
- Luke 8:18 thinks that he has
- Luke 8:23 danger
- Luke 8:26 NU Gerasenes
- Luke 8:27 NU and for a long time wore no clothes
- Luke 8:36 delivered
- Luke 8:37 NU Gerasenes
- Luke 8:45 NU omits and those with him
- Luke 8:45 NU omits the rest of v. 45.
- Luke 8:48 NU omits be of good cheer
- Luke 8:49 NU adds anymore
- Luke 8:51 NU adds with Him
- Luke 8:51 NU, M Peter, John, and James
- Luke 8:54 NU omits put them all outside
Luke 8
EasyEnglish Bible
The women that helped Jesus
8 After this, Jesus went to visit many towns and villages. He told people the good news about the kingdom of God. The 12 disciples were travelling with him. 2 Some women also went with them. These women had been ill, but Jesus had made them well again. One of the women was Mary from Magdala. Jesus had sent seven bad spirits away from her. 3 Another of the women was Joanna, the wife of Chuza. Chuza had authority over all the people that worked in the house of King Herod. Another of the women was Susanna. There were also many others. These women were using their own money to help Jesus and his disciples.
A story about a farmer that planted seeds
4 Lots of people were coming to Jesus from many towns. A large crowd had already come together when Jesus told this story:
5 ‘A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field. While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. Then people walked on them. Birds came down and they ate those seeds. 6 Some seeds fell on ground which had rocks. The seeds started to grow. But the young plants died because the ground was not wet enough in that place. 7 Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. 8 But some seeds fell on good soil. Strong plants grew from those seeds. Each of these plants made 100 seeds.’
When Jesus finished the story, he said, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’
Jesus explains why he tells stories
9 Jesus' disciples asked him about this story. They asked him what it meant. 10 Jesus replied, ‘God has let you know what these stories mean. You understand how God rules in the lives of his people. But other people only listen to my stories. They look, but they do not really see clearly. They hear the words, but they do not really understand.’
Jesus explains the story about the seeds
11 Jesus then said, ‘This is what the story means: The seeds are like the message from God. 12 Some seeds fell on the path. That is like some people who hear the message, but they do not think about it. The Devil comes and he takes the message away from their minds. He takes it away so that they cannot believe it. Because they do not believe the message, God does not save them.
13 Some seeds fell on ground with rocks in it. This is like people who hear the message from God and they are very happy for a time. But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. They believe in God for a short time. But when they have problems, they stop believing.
14 Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like some other people who hear the message from God. But they start to have many troubles in their minds about how they will live. They want to get more money and more things. They think that this will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow into strong plants.
15 But some seed fell on good soil. This is like other people that hear the message from God. They understand the message and they keep it in their minds. They are good and honest. They continue to believe. These people are like a good plant that grows well and makes lots of new seeds.’
16 Jesus then said, ‘People do not light a lamp and then cover it. They do not put the lamp under a pot or under a bed. Instead, they put it in a high place. Then other people that come into the room can see the light from the lamp.
17 God hides some things now. But there will be a time when people will see them. God keeps some things secret now. But there will be a time when people will understand those things clearly.
18 So you should think carefully about what you hear. The person who has received some things will receive more. But some other people have nothing. They think that they have a little bit. But they will lose even that.’[a]
The mother and brothers of Jesus come to see him
19 Then Jesus' mother and his brothers came to see him. But they could not reach him because of the large crowd of people who were there. 20 Someone told Jesus, ‘Your mother and brothers are standing outside. They want to see you.’
21 Jesus replied, ‘I will tell you who my mother and brothers really are. My mother and my brothers are those people who hear God's message and do what he wants.’[b]
Jesus stops a storm
22 One day, Jesus got into a boat with his disciples. He said to them, ‘We should go across to the other side of the lake.’ So they started to cross the lake. 23 While they sailed in the boat, Jesus began to sleep. Then a strong wind started to blow across the lake. Water began to fill the boat and they were in danger. 24 So the disciples went to Jesus and they woke him. ‘Master, master, we will die here in the water!’ they said.
Then Jesus got up and he spoke strongly to the wind and to the water. ‘Stop!’ he said. The wind stopped immediately and the water became flat. 25 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Why do you not believe in me?’
All this frightened the disciples and they were very surprised. They asked each other, ‘Who is this man? He even tells the wind and the water what to do. He speaks and they obey him!’
Jesus makes a man well
26 Jesus and his disciples went to the place where the Gerasene people lived. This place is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus got out of the boat there, a man from the town came towards him. Bad spirits were living inside him. He had not worn any clothes for a long time. He did not live in a house. Instead, he lived outside, among some graves. 28 When he saw Jesus, he screamed. Then he went down on his knees in front of Jesus and said in a loud voice, ‘Jesus, you are the Son of the powerful God who is over all! What are you doing here? Please do not hurt me.’ 29 He said that because Jesus had already said to the bad spirit, ‘Come out of this man.’
The bad spirit had often taken hold of the man, so people watched him carefully. They held his feet with metal chains. But when the bad spirit took hold of him, he often broke the chains. The bad spirit then caused him to go into the wilderness.
30 Jesus asked the man, ‘What is your name?’ The man replied, ‘My name is Army.’ He said this because very many bad spirits had gone into him.[c] 31 These bad spirits asked Jesus not to send them away to the world below.[d]
32 There was a large group of pigs there and they were eating on the hill. The bad spirits asked Jesus, ‘Let us go into the pigs.’ Jesus replied, ‘You can go into them.’ 33 So the bad spirits came out of the man and they went into the pigs. All the pigs rushed together down the hill into the lake. They all died there in the water.
34 The men who were taking care of the pigs saw this happen. They ran away. They told the people in the town and in the villages what had happened. 35 So the people went out from these places to see what had happened. They came to Jesus. The man that the bad spirits had come out of was sitting there, beside Jesus' feet. Now he was wearing clothes and his mind was well again. When the people saw this, they were afraid. 36 Some people had seen Jesus make the man well. They told the other people how he had done this. 37 Then all the Gerasene people who lived in that place said to Jesus, ‘Please go away and leave us.’ They said this because they were very afraid. So Jesus got back into the boat to leave that place. 38 Then the man that the bad spirits had gone out from said to Jesus, ‘Please let me come with you.’ But Jesus replied, ‘No. 39 You must return to your home. Tell everyone about all that God has done for you.’
So the man went away. He went everywhere in the town and told all the people, ‘Jesus has done very good things for me.’
Jesus makes a young girl well
40 When Jesus returned to the other side of the lake, the crowd was very happy to see him. They were all waiting for him to come back. 41 Then a man called Jairus came to see him. He was a leader at the Jewish meeting place. He went down on his knees at the feet of Jesus and said, ‘Please come to my house. 42 I have one daughter. She is 12 years old and she is very ill. She will die very soon.’
So Jesus went along. A crowd of people went with him. They were pushing against him. 43 There was a sick woman in the crowd who had lost blood for 12 years. She had paid all her money to doctors and now she had no money. But nobody could help her to become well again. 44 She came in the crowd behind Jesus and she touched the edge of his coat. Immediately she stopped bleeding. 45 Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’
Everyone round him said, ‘It was not me. I did not touch you.’ Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, there is a big crowd round you. Many people are pushing against you.’
46 Jesus said, ‘Someone did touch me. I know that something powerful went out from me.’ 47 The woman knew that she could not hide herself. So she was very afraid. She came to Jesus and she went down on the ground in front of him. She spoke so that all the people could hear her. She said, ‘I wanted to be well again, so I touched him. When I did that, I became well immediately.’ 48 Jesus said to her, ‘Young woman, you are well again because you believed in me. Go now and have peace in your mind.’[e]
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone arrived from Jairus' house. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ he told Jairus. ‘Do not ask the teacher to come now.’
50 Jesus heard what the man said. So he said to Jairus, ‘Do not be afraid. Just believe in me. Then she will become well again.’
51 When they arrived at the house, Jesus would not let everyone go in with him. He took only Peter, John and James. He also let the mother and father of the girl go into the house. 52 All the people there were crying loudly because they were very sad. ‘Do not weep,’ Jesus told them. ‘The child is not dead. She is only asleep.’
53 But the people knew that she had died. So they laughed at him. 54 But Jesus went and held the child's hand. He said to her, ‘My child, get up.’ 55 Then she became alive again. Immediately she stood up. Jesus said to her parents, ‘Give her something to eat.’ 56 They were very surprised. Jesus said to them very strongly, ‘You must not tell anyone about what has happened.’
Footnotes
- 8:18 Jesus is telling people how to listen to him. As in the picture story about the seeds, many people heard the message about God. But not all people obeyed what they heard. They lost it. Some people were careful to listen. They received more than they started with.
- 8:21 People that believe in Jesus become part of the family of God.
- 8:30 The man told Jesus that his name was ‘Army’ because he had many bad spirits that were living in him, like an army.
- 8:31 The world below is the place where the Devil and all the bad spirits will have to go.
- 8:48 A woman with this problem should not have been in a crowd. She should not have touched other people and they should not have touched her. She was very afraid because people would know her secret.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.