Luke 8
New Testament for Everyone
The parable of the sower
8 Soon afterwards, Jesus went about in person, with the Twelve, through the towns and villages, announcing and proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom. 2 They were accompanied by various women who had been healed from evil spirits and diseases: Mary who was called “Magdalene,” from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 Joanna the wife of Chouza (Herod’s steward), and Susanna, and many others. They looked after the needs of Jesus and his companions out of their own pockets.
4 A large crowd came together, and people came to him from town after town. He spoke to them in parables: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell by the road, and was trodden on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on stony ground, and when it came up it withered, because it didn’t have any moisture. 7 Other seed fell in among thorns, and when the thorns grew up they choked it. 8 Other seed again fell into good soil, and came up, and gave a yield of a hundredfold.”
As he said this, he called out: “If you’ve got ears to hear, then hear!”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable was about.
10 “You are being let in on the secrets of God’s kingdom,” he said, “but to the rest it happens in parables, so that ‘they may see but not perceive, and hear but not understand.’
11 “This is the parable: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the roadside are people who hear, but then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they won’t believe it and be saved. 13 Those on the stony ground are those who hear the word and receive it with delight—but they don’t have any root, and so they believe only for a time, and then, when a time of testing comes, they draw back. 14 The seed that falls in among thorns represents people who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and they don’t bear proper, ripening fruit. 15 But those in the good soil are the ones who hear the word and hold on to it with an upright and good heart, and who patiently produce fruit.”
Jesus calms the storm
16 “Nobody lights a lamp,” continued Jesus, “and then hides it under a pot or a bed. They put it on a lampstand, so that people who come in can see the light. 17 You see, nothing is hidden which won’t become visible. Nothing is concealed that won’t come to light.
18 “So be careful how you listen. If you’ve got something, more will be given to you; if you haven’t, even what you imagine you have will be taken away from you.”
19 His mother and brothers came to him, and couldn’t get near him because of the crowd. 20 So they sent a message to him: “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
21 “Mother and brothers, indeed?” replied Jesus. “Here are my mother and brothers—people who hear God’s word and do it!”
22 One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and suggested that they cross to the other shore. So they set off. 23 As they were sailing, he fell asleep. A violent wind swept down on the lake, and the boat began to fill dangerously with water.
24 “Master, Master!” shouted the disciples, coming and waking him up. “Master, we’re lost!”
He got up and scolded the wind and the waves. They stopped, and there was a flat calm.
25 “Where’s your faith?” he asked them.
They were afraid and astonished. “Who is this, then,” they asked one another, “if he can give orders to wind and water, and they do what he says?”
The healing of the demoniac
26 They sailed to the land of the Gerasenes, which is on the other side from Galilee. 27 As he got out on land, a demon-possessed man from the town met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he didn’t live in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus he screamed and fell down in front of him.
“You and me, Jesus—you and me!” he yelled at the top of his voice. “What is it with you and me, you son of the Most High God? Don’t torture me—please, please don’t torment me!” 29 Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times over it had seized him, and he was kept under guard with chains and manacles; but he used to break the shackles, and the demon would drive him into the desert.
30 “What’s your name?” Jesus asked him.
“Regiment!” replied the man—for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to order them to be sent into the pit.
32 A sizable herd of pigs was feeding on the hillside, and the demons begged him to allow them to go into them. He gave them permission. 33 The demons went out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake and was drowned.
34 The herdsmen saw what had happened. They took to their heels and spread the news in town and country, 35 and people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting there at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind. They were afraid. 36 People who had seen how the demoniac had been healed explained it to them. 37 The whole crowd, from the surrounding country of the Gerasenes, asked him to go away from them, because great terror had seized them. So he got into the boat and returned.
38 The man who had been demon-possessed begged Jesus to let him stay with him. But he sent him away. 39 “Go back to your home,” he said, “and tell them what God has done for you.” And he went off round every town, declaring what Jesus had done for him.
Jairus’s daughter and the woman with chronic bleeding
40 Jesus returned. A large crowd was waiting for him, and welcomed him back. 41 A man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell down in front of his feet. He pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter, twelve years old, who was dying. So they set off, and the crowd pressed close in around him.
43 There was a woman who had had an internal hemorrhage for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors, but had not been able to find a cure from anyone. 44 She came up behind Jesus and touched the hem of his robe. Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
45 “Who touched me?” asked Jesus.
Everybody denied it. “Master,” said Peter, “the crowds are crushing you and pressing you!”
46 “Somebody touched me,” said Jesus. “Power went out from me, and I knew it.”
47 When the woman saw that she couldn’t remain hidden, she came up, trembling, and fell down in front of him. She told him, in front of everyone, why she had touched him, and how she had been healed instantly.
48 “Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone arrived from the synagogue-ruler’s house. “Your daughter’s dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher any longer.”
50 “Don’t be afraid,” said Jesus when he heard it. “Just believe, and she will be rescued.”
51 When they got to the house, he didn’t let anyone come in with them except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was weeping and wailing for her.
“Don’t cry,” said Jesus. “She isn’t dead; she’s asleep.” 53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But he took her by the hand. “Get up, child,” he called. 55 Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. He told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, but he told them to tell nobody what had happened.
Luke 8
The Voice
8 Soon after this incident, Jesus preached from city to city, village to village, carrying the good news of the kingdom of God. He was accompanied by a group called “the twelve,” 2 and also by a larger group including some women who had been rescued from evil spirits and healed of diseases. There was Mary, called Magdalene, who had been released from seven demons. 3 There were others like Susanna and Joanna, who was married to Chuza, a steward of King Herod. And there were many others too. These women played an important role in Jesus’ ministry, using their wealth to provide for Him and His other companions.
4 While a huge crowd gathered with people from many surrounding towns streaming to hear Jesus, He told them a parable.
Parables are works of art, specifically, works of short fiction. They are intricately constructed and complex in their intent. In some ways, they are intended to hide the truth; they don’t reduce truth to simple statements or formulae. Instead, they force the reader to take things to a deeper level, to engage the imagination, to think and think again. In this way, they invite people to ask questions; they stir curiosity; they create intrigue.
Jesus: 5 Once a farmer went out to scatter seed in his fields. Some seeds fell along a trail where they were crushed underfoot by people walking by. Birds flew in and ate those seeds. 6 Other seeds fell on gravel. Those seeds sprouted but soon withered, depleted of moisture under the scorching sun. 7 Still other seeds landed among thorns where they grew for a while, but eventually the thorns stunted them so they couldn’t thrive or bear fruit. 8 But some seeds fell into good soil—soft, moist, free from thorns. These seeds not only grew, but they also produced more seeds, a hundred times what the farmer originally planted. If you have ears, hear My meaning!
9 His disciples heard the words, but the deeper meaning eluded them.
Disciples: What were You trying to say?
10 Jesus: The kingdom of God contains many secrets.
They keep listening, but do not comprehend;
keep observing, but do not understand.[a]
I want you to understand, so 11 here’s the interpretation: The voice of God falls on human hearts like seeds scattered across a field. 12 Some people hear that message, but the devil opposes the liberation that would come to them by believing. So he swoops in and steals the message from their hard hearts like birds stealing the seeds from the footpath. 13 Others receive the message enthusiastically, but their vitality is short-lived because the message cannot be deeply rooted in their shallow hearts. In the heat of temptation, their faith withers, like the seeds that sprouted in gravelly soil. 14 A third group hears the message, but as time passes, the daily anxieties, the pursuit of wealth, and life’s addicting delights outpace the growth of the message in their hearts. Even if the message blossoms and fruit begins to form, the fruit never fully matures because the thorns choke out the plants’ vitality.
15 But some people hear the message and let it take root deeply in receptive hearts made fertile by honesty and goodness. With patient dependability, they bear good fruit.
16 You wouldn’t light a lamp and cover it with a clay pot. You’re not going to hide it under your bed. No, when you light it, you’re going to put it out in the open so your guests can feel welcome and see where they’re going.
17 Hidden things will always come out into the open. Secret things will come to light and be exposed. 18 I hope you’re still listening. And I hope you’re listening carefully. If you get what I’m saying, you’ll get more. If you miss My meaning, even the understanding you think you have will be taken from you.
19 Around this time, Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people gathered in a house. His mother and brothers arrived to see Him, but the crowd around Him was so huge that they couldn’t even get through the door. 20 Word spread through the crowd.
Someone from the Crowd: Jesus, Your mother and brothers are outside the house hoping to see You.
Jesus: 21 Do you want to know who My mother and brothers are? They’re the ones who truly understand God’s message and obey it.
22 Picture this:
One day Jesus and His disciples get into a boat.
Jesus: Let’s cross the lake.
So they push off from shore and begin sailing to the far side. 23 As they progress across the lake, Jesus falls sound asleep. Soon a raging storm blows in. The waves wash over the sides of the boat, and the boat starts filling up with water. Every second the situation becomes more dangerous.
24 The disciples shake Jesus and wake Him.
Disciples (shouting): Master! Master! We’re all going to die!
Jesus wakes up and tells the wind to stop whipping them around, and He tells the furious waves to calm down. They do just that. 25 Then Jesus turns to the disciples.
Jesus: What happened to your faith?
The disciples had been terrified during the storm, but now they’re afraid in another way. They turn to each other and start whispering, chattering, and wondering.
Disciples: Who is this man? How can He command wind and water so they do what He says?
26 When they get to the other side of the lake, in the Gerasene country opposite Galilee, 27 a man from the city is waiting for Jesus when He steps out of the boat. The man is full of demonic spirits. He’s been running around for a long time stark naked, and he’s homeless, sleeping among the dead in a cemetery. 28-29 This man has on many occasions been tied up and chained and kept under guard, but each time he has broken free and the demonic power has driven him back into remote places away from human contact. Jesus commands the demonic force to leave him. The man looks at Jesus and starts screaming. He falls down in front of Jesus.
Possessed Man (shouting): Don’t torment me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! Why are You here?
Jesus (calmly and simply): 30 What’s your name?
Possessed Man: Battalion.
He says this because an army of demons is inside of him. 31 The demons start begging Jesus not to send them into the bottomless pit. 32 They plead instead to enter into a herd of pigs feeding on a steep hillside near the shore. Jesus gives them permission to do so. 33 Suddenly the man is liberated from the demons, but the pigs—they stampede, squealing down the hill and into the lake where they drown themselves.
34 The pig owners see all this. They run back to their town and tell everyone in the region about it. 35 Soon a crowd rushes from the town to see what’s going on out by the lake. There they find Jesus seated to teach with the newly liberated man sitting at His feet learning in the posture of a disciple. This former madman is now properly dressed and completely sane. This frightens the people. 36 The pig owners tell them the whole story—the healing, the pigs’ mass suicide, everything.
37 The people are scared to death, and they don’t want this scary abnormality happening in their territory. They ask Jesus to leave immediately. Jesus doesn’t argue. He prepares to leave, 38 but before they embark, the newly liberated man begs to come along and join the band of disciples.
Jesus: 39 No. Go home. Tell your people this amazing story about how much God has done for you.
The man does so. In fact, he tells everyone in the whole city how much Jesus did for him that day on the shore.
40 When Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake, another crowd was waiting to welcome Him. 41 A man made his way through the crowd. His name was Jairus, and he was a synagogue official. Like the man on the other side of the lake, this dignified man also fell at Jesus’ feet, begging Jesus to visit his home 42 where his only daughter, a girl of 12, lay dying. Jesus set out with Jairus. The crowd came along, too, pressing hard against Him.
43 In the crowd was a woman. She had suffered from an incurable menstrual disorder for 12 years [and had spent her livelihood on doctors with no effect].[b] It had kept her miserable and ritually unclean, unable to participate fully in Jewish life. 44 She followed Jesus, until she could reach Him. She touched the fringe of the robe Jesus wore, and at that moment the bleeding stopped.
Jesus (stopping and looking about): 45 Who touched Me?
Some in the Crowd (everyone speaking at once): Not me.
Another in the Crowd: It wasn’t me either.
Peter [and those with him][c] (intervening): Master, what kind of question is that, with this huge crowd all around You and many people touching You on all sides?
Jesus: 46 I felt something. I felt power going out from Me. I know that somebody touched Me.
47 The woman now realized her secret was going to come out sooner or later, so she stepped out of the crowd, shaking with fear, and she fell down in front of Jesus. Then she told her story in front of everyone—why she touched Him, what happened as a result.
Jesus: 48 Your faith has made you well again, daughter. Go in peace.
49 Right at that instant, one of Jairus’s household servants arrived.
Servant: Sir, your daughter is dead. It’s no use bothering the Teacher with this anymore.
Jesus (interrupting Jairus before he could speak): 50 Don’t be afraid. Just believe. She’ll be well again.
51-52 As they approached the house, the whole neighborhood was full of the sound of mourning—weeping, wailing, loud crying. Jesus told everyone to stay outside—everyone except Peter, John, James, and, of course, the girl’s father and mother.
Jesus (to the mourners): Please stop weeping. The girl isn’t dead. She’s only asleep.
53 They knew for certain that she was dead, so their bitter tears now mixed with mocking laughter.
54 Meanwhile, inside, Jesus took the girl’s hand.
Jesus: Child, get up!
55 She started breathing again, and she sat right up.
Jesus: Get her something to eat.
56 Her parents were amazed, but Jesus sternly told them to keep what had happened a secret.
Footnotes
- 8:10 Isaiah 6:9
- 8:43 This portion is omitted in some early manuscripts.
- 8:45 The earliest manuscripts omit this portion.
Luke 8
King James Version
8 And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,
2 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils,
3 And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung 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 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
19 Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
20 And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
22 Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.
23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35 Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36 They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37 Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.
40 And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.
41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
42 For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
43 And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
44 Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
45 And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
46 And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.
47 And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
49 While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master.
50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.
51 And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.
52 And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.
53 And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.
54 And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
55 And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.
56 And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.