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Jesus Heals a Paralytic

¹ And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to ^(a)his own city. ^2 (b)And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus ^(c)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ^(d)"Take heart, my son; ^(e)your sins are forgiven." ³ And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ^(f)"This man is blaspheming." ⁴ But Jesus, ^(g)knowing^[a] their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? ⁵ For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'? ⁶ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"—he then said to the paralytic—"Rise, pick up your bed and go home." ⁷ And he rose and went home. ⁸ When the crowds saw it, ^(h)they were afraid, and ⁽ⁱ⁾they glorified God, who had ^(j)given such authority to men.

Jesus Calls Matthew

^9 (k)As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called ^(l)Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

¹⁰ And as Jesus^[b] reclined at table in the house, behold, many ^(m)tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ⁽ⁿ⁾"Why does your teacher eat with ^(o)tax collectors and sinners?" ¹² But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ¹³ Go and learn ^(p)what this means: ^(q)‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For ^(r)I came not to call the righteous, ^(s)but sinners."

A Question About Fasting

¹⁴ Then ^(t)the disciples of John came to him, saying, ^(u)"Why do we and ^(v)the Pharisees fast,^[c] but your disciples do not fast?" ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, ^(w)"Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? ^(x)The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^(y)then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. ¹⁷ Neither is new wine put into old ^(z)wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed

^18 (aa)While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and ^(ab)knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." ¹⁹ And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. ²⁰ And behold, a woman ^(ac)who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched ^(ad)the fringe of his garment, ²¹ for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." ²² Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, ^(ae)"Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." ^(af)And instantly^[d] the woman was made well. ²³ And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw ^(ag)the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, ²⁴ he said, "Go away, for ^(ah)the girl is not dead but ^(ai)sleeping." And they laughed at him. ²⁵ But ^(aj)when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and ^(ak)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. ²⁶ And the report of this went through all that district.

Jesus Heals Two Blind Men

^27 (al)And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, ^(am)Son of David." ²⁸ When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." ^29 (an)Then he touched their eyes, saying, ^(ao)"According to your faith be it done to you." ³⁰ And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, ^(ap)"See that no one knows about it." ^31 (aq)But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.

Jesus Heals a Man Unable to Speak

³² As they were going away, behold, a ^(ar)demon-oppressed man who was mute ^(as)was brought to him. ³³ And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds ^(at)marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel." ³⁴ But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons."

The Harvest Is Plentiful, the Laborers Few

^35 (au)And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. ^36 (av)When he saw the crowds, ^(aw)he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, ^(ax)like sheep without a shepherd. ^37 (ay)Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸ therefore ^(az)pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to ^(ba)send out laborers into his harvest."