Luke 7-9

English Standard Version

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant

7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, ^(A)he entered Capernaum. ² Now a centurion had a servant^[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ³ When the centurion^[b] heard about Jesus, ^(B)he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ^(C)“He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵ for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us ^(D)our synagogue.” ⁶ And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, ^(E)do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷ Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But ^(F)say the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸ For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹ When Jesus heard these things, ^(G)he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such ^(H)faith.” ¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son

¹¹ Soon afterward^[c] he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, ^(I)the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ And when the Lord saw her, ^(J)he had compassion on her and ^(K)said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then he came up and touched ^(L)the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, ^(M)arise.” ¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus^{[d] (N)}gave him to his mother. ¹⁶ Fear seized them all, and ^(O)they glorified God, saying, ^(P)“A great prophet has arisen among us!” and ^(Q)“God has visited his people!” ¹⁷ And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

Messengers from John the Baptist

^18 (R)(S)The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹ calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one ^(T)who is to come, or ^(U)shall we look for another?” ²⁰ And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one ^(V)who is to come, or ^(W)shall we look for another?’” ²¹ In that hour ^(X)he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and ^(Y)on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²² And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: ^(Z)the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, ^(AA)lepers^[e] are cleansed, and ^(AB)the deaf hear, ^(AC)the dead are raised up, ^(AD)the poor have good news preached to them. ²³ And blessed is the one who is ^(AE)not offended by me.”

²⁴ When John's messengers had gone, Jesus^[f] began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ^(AF)into the wilderness to see? ^(AG)A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵ What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings' courts. ²⁶ What then did you go out to see? ^(AH)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is he of whom it is written,

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹ (^(AJ)When all the people heard this, and ^(AK)the tax collectors too, they declared God just,^{[g] (AL)}having been baptized with ^(AM)the baptism of John, ^30 (AN)but the Pharisees and ^(AO)the lawyers ^(AP)rejected ^(AQ)the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹ “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

³³ For John the Baptist has come ^(AR)eating no bread and ^(AS)drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man has come ^(AT)eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^(AU)a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵ Yet ^(AV)wisdom is justified by all her children.”

A Sinful Woman Forgiven

^36 (AW)One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. ^37 (AX)And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and ^(AY)wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If ^(AZ)this man were ^(BA)a prophet, he ^(BB)would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”

⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred ^(BC)denarii, and the other fifty. ^42 (BD)When they could not pay, he ^(BE)cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; ^(BF)you gave me no water for my feet, but ^(BG)she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ^45 (BH)You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to ^(BI)kiss my feet. ^46 (BJ)You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, ^(BK)which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸ And he said to her, ^(BL)“Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among^[h] themselves, ^(BM)“Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, ^(BN)“Your faith has saved you; ^(BO)go in peace.”

Women Accompanying Jesus

8 Soon afterward he went on ^(BP)through cities and villages, proclaiming and ^(BQ)bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ² and also ^(BR)some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^(BS)Mary, called Magdalene, ^(BT)from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and ^(BU)Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them^[i] out of their means.

The Parable of the Sower

^4 (BV)And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ^5 (BW)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^(BX)it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ And some fell among ^(BY)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^(BZ)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^(CA)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, ^(CB)“To you it has been given to know ^(CC)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^(CD)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ^11 (CE)Now the parable is this: The seed is ^(CF)the word of God. ¹² The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^(CG)believe and be saved. ¹³ And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^(CH)with joy. But these have no root; they ^(CI)believe for a while, and in time of testing ^(CJ)fall away. ¹⁴ And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ^(CK)as they go on their way they are choked by the ^(CL)cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵ As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^(CM)bear fruit ^(CN)with patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

^16 (CO)(CP)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ^17 (CQ)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ^18 (CR)Take care then how you hear, ^(CS)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

^19 (CT)Then his mother and ^(CU)his brothers^[j] came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹ But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^(CV)who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

^22 (CW)One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of ^(CX)the lake.” So they set out, ²³ and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on ^(CY)the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴ And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and ^(CZ)rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, ^(DA)and there was a calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ^(DB)were afraid, and they ^(DC)marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ^(DD)he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

^26 (DE)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,^[k] which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus^[l] had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house ^(DF)but among the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he ^(DG)cried out and fell down before him and said ^(DH)with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^(DI)Son of ^(DJ)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 many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ^(DK)into the desert.) ³⁰ Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, ^(DL)“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹ And they begged him not to command them to depart into ^(DM)the abyss. ³² Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³ Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^(DN)the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵ Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting ^(DO)at the feet of Jesus, ^(DP)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶ And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed^[m] man had been healed. ³⁷ Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes ^(DQ)asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return to your home, and ^(DR)declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus's Daughter

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd ^(DS)welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ^41 (DT)And there came a man named Jairus, who was ^(DU)a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, ⁴² for he had ^(DV)an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people ^(DW)pressed around him. ⁴³ And there was a woman ^(DX)who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her ^(DY)living on physicians,^[n] she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched ^(DZ)the fringe of his garment, and ^(EA)immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter^[o] said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that ^(EB)power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷ And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Daughter, ^(EC)your faith has made you well; ^(ED)go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While he was still speaking, someone from ^(EE)the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; ^(EF)do not trouble ^(EG)the Teacher any more.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except ^(EH)Peter and ^(EI)John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵² And all were weeping and ^(EJ)mourning for her, but he ^(EK)said, “Do not weep, for ^(EL)she is not dead but ^(EM)sleeping.” ⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But ^(EN)taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, ^(EO)arise.” ⁵⁵ And ^(EP)her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶ And her parents were amazed, but ^(EQ)he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

9 ^(ER)And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, ^2 (ES)and he sent them out to ^(ET)proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. ^3 (EU)And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, ^(EV)no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics.^{[p] 4} And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. ⁵ And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town ^(EW)shake off the dust from your feet ^(EX)as a testimony ^(EY)against them.” ^6 (EZ)And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Herod Is Perplexed by Jesus

^7 (FA)Now ^(FB)Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that ^(FC)John had been raised from the dead, ^8 (FD)by some that Elijah had appeared, and ^(FE)by others that one of the prophets of old had risen. ⁹ Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And ^(FF)he sought to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹⁰ On their return ^(FG)the apostles told him all that they had done. ^(FH)And he took them and withdrew apart to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds learned it, they followed him, and he ^(FI)welcomed them and ^(FJ)spoke to them of the kingdom of God and ^(FK)cured those who had need of healing. ¹² Now ^(FL)the day began to wear away, and the twelve came and said to him, ^(FM)“Send the crowd away to go into the surrounding villages and countryside to find lodging and get provisions, for we are here in a desolate place.” ¹³ But he said to them, ^(FN)“You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than ^(FO)five loaves and two fish—unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” ¹⁴ For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ And they did so, and had them all sit down. ¹⁶ And taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^(FP)he looked up to heaven and ^(FQ)said a blessing over them. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. ¹⁷ And they all ate and were satisfied. And what was left over was picked up, twelve baskets of broken pieces.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^18 (FR)Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” ¹⁹ And they answered, ^(FS)“John the Baptist. But others say, ^(FT)Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” ²⁰ Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, ^(FU)“The Christ of God.”

Jesus Foretells His Death

^21 (FV)And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, ^22 (FW)saying, ^(FX)“The Son of Man must ^(FY)suffer many things and ^(FZ)be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(GA)the third day be raised.”

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(GB)deny himself and ^(GC)take up his cross ^(GD)daily and follow me. ²⁴ For ^(GE)whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ^25 (GF)For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For ^(GG)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed ^(GH)when he comes in ^(GI)his glory and the glory of the Father and of ^(GJ)the holy angels. ²⁷ But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not ^(GK)taste death ^(GL)until they see the kingdom of God.”

The Transfiguration

^28 (GM)Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him ^(GN)Peter and John and James and ^(GO)went up on the mountain to pray. ²⁹ And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was ^(GP)altered, and ^(GQ)his clothing became dazzling white. ³⁰ And behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, ³¹ who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure,^[q] which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. ³² Now Peter and those who were with him ^(GR)were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake ^(GS)they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. ³³ And as the men were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^(GT)tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah”—^(GU)not knowing what he said. ³⁴ As he was saying these things, ^(GV)a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ And ^(GW)a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, ^(GX)my Chosen One;^{[r] (GY)}listen to him!” ³⁶ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. ^(GZ)And they kept silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

^37 (HA)On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. ³⁸ And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for ^(HB)he is my only child. ³⁹ And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. ⁴⁰ And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but ^(HC)they could not.” ⁴¹ Jesus answered, “O ^(HD)faithless and twisted generation, ^(HE)how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” ⁴² While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus ^(HF)rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and ^(HG)gave him back to his father. ⁴³ And all were astonished at ^(HH)the majesty of God.

Jesus Again Foretells His Death

^(HI)But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus^[s] said ^(HJ)to his disciples, ⁴⁴ “Let these words sink into your ears: ^(HK)The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” ^45 (HL)But they did not understand this saying, and ^(HM)it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.

Who Is the Greatest?

^46 (HN)An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. ⁴⁷ But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side ⁴⁸ and said to them, ^(HO)“Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and ^(HP)whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For ^(HQ)he who is least among you all is the one who is great.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is For Us

^49 (HR)John answered, “Master, we saw someone ^(HS)casting out demons in your name, and ^(HT)we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.” ⁵⁰ But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, ^(HU)for the one who is not against you is for you.”

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

⁵¹ When the days drew near for ^(HV)him to be taken up, ^(HW)he set his face ^(HX)to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And ^(HY)he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of ^(HZ)the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But ^(IA)the people did not receive him, because ^(IB)his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell ^(IC)fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”^{[t] 55} But he turned and rebuked them.^{[u] 56} And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were going ^(ID)along the road, ^(IE)someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ And Jesus^[v] said to him, “Leave ^(IF)the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and ^(IG)proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, ^(IH)but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶² Jesus said to him, ^(II)“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”