Matthew 9
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus helps a man who cannot walk
9 Then Jesus got back into the boat. He sailed across to the other side of the lake again. He went to Capernaum, the town where he was living.
2 Some men came to see Jesus there. They carried with them a man who could not walk or move his legs. He was lying on a mat. Jesus knew that they believed in him. He said to the man who could not walk, ‘Do not be afraid, my friend. I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.’
3 Then some teachers of God's Law said to themselves: ‘This man is speaking as if he is God. That is not right.’
4 Jesus knew what the teachers were thinking. So he said to them, ‘You should not think these bad things in your minds. 5 I said to this man, “I forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up and walk.” Which one is easier for me to say? 6 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth.[a] I can forgive people for the wrong things that they have done.’ Then he said to the man who could not walk, ‘Stand up. Pick up your mat and go home.’ 7 So then the man stood up and he went home. 8 The crowds of people saw what had happened. They were very surprised and afraid. They saw that God had given so much authority to men. So they praised God and they said, ‘God is great!’
Jesus asks Matthew to come with him
9 Jesus went away from that place. While he walked, he saw a man called Matthew. Matthew's job was to take taxes from people. He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ So Matthew stood up and he went with Jesus.
10 Later, Jesus went to eat a meal in Matthew's house. Many bad people and men who took taxes also came to the house.[b] They came to eat there with Jesus and his disciples.
11 Some Pharisees saw what was happening. They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘Your teacher is eating a meal with these bad people. That is not right. They are people who do not obey God, and some of them take taxes from people.’
12 Jesus heard what the Pharisees were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. 13 Go and study what it says in the Bible. God says there, “I want people to be kind to each other. I do not want them only to offer sacrifices to me.” Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’
14 Then the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus. They said to him, ‘We often decide to fast for a time. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. Why do your disciples never do that?’[c]
15 Jesus answered them: ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot be sad. They cannot refuse to eat food while he is with them. But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will choose to fast.’[d]
16 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before.
17 Nobody pours new wine into old wineskins.[e] If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins. Then there will be nothing to spoil the wine or the wineskins.’[f]
Jesus causes a dead girl to become alive again
18 While Jesus was saying these things to the people, a leader at the Jewish meeting place came to him. The man went down on his knees in front of Jesus and said to him, ‘My daughter has just died. Come to my house. Put your hand on her and then she will live again.’ 19 So Jesus went with the man. His disciples also went with them.
20 There was a sick woman in the crowd. She had been losing blood for 12 years. She came near to Jesus, behind him. She touched the edge of his coat. 21 The woman thought, ‘Even if I only touch his coat, I will become well again.’
22 Jesus turned round and he saw the woman. He said to her, ‘Young woman, do not be afraid. You are now well again because you believed in me.’ And immediately the woman became well again.
23 Then Jesus arrived at the Jewish leader's house. Some people there were making sad music and the crowd was making a loud noise.[g]
24 When Jesus saw this, he said to everybody in the house, ‘Go outside. This girl is not dead. She is only sleeping.’ The people laughed at Jesus when he said that. 25 The family sent all the people out of the house. Jesus went inside and he held the girl's hand. Immediately she stood up. 26 People in all that part of the country heard about what had happened.
Jesus causes two blind men to see again
27 Jesus left the house. While he walked along, two blind men began to follow him. They were shouting out to him, ‘Son of David! Please be kind to us and help us!’[h]
28 Jesus went into a house and the blind men came to him there. Jesus asked them, ‘Do you believe that I can make your eyes become well?’ The men replied, ‘Yes, Master, we believe that you can do this.’
29 So Jesus touched the men's eyes. He said to them, ‘Because you believed in me, you will now see again.’ 30 Then immediately the men could see again. Jesus said strongly to them, ‘You must not tell anyone about this.’ 31 So the men went away. But they told everybody in that part of the country all about what Jesus had done for them.
Jesus causes a man to speak again
32 While those two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not speak because of a bad spirit in him. 33 Jesus made the bad spirit go out of the man and leave him. Then the man began to speak again. Everybody there was very surprised. They said, ‘Nobody has seen anything like this happen in Israel before.’
34 But the Pharisees said, ‘This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority. Satan is the one who rules the bad spirits.’
Jesus wants God to send out more disciples
35 Jesus went to visit all the towns and villages near there. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He told them the good news about God's kingdom. He also caused sick people to become well again from all their different pains and illnesses.
36 When Jesus saw the crowds of people, he felt sorry for them. They had trouble in their minds. They had nobody to help them. Jesus thought, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ 37 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Many people are ready to believe God's message. They are like crops in the fields at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. 38 So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the crops belong to him.’[i]
Footnotes
- 9:6 Jesus often called himself the Son of Man. He did this so that people would remember about some messages in the Bible. We can read about the Son of Man in the book called Daniel. (See Daniel 7:13-14.)
- 9:10 These people were Jews who did not obey everything in God's Law. The Pharisees did not like them. They thought that they were bad people. The Pharisees thought that they themselves obeyed everything in God's Laws. They thought that they themselves were better than other people.
- 9:14 Some people stop eating for some hours or days so that they can have more time with God. This causes them to feel nearer to God when they pray.
- 9:15 In this picture story, Jesus is like the bridegroom. Those who follow him are like his friends at the marriage. Jesus will not always be with them. That will be the time when they will stop eating for some time to pray.
- 9:17 Some people kept wine in bottles made from an animal skin. Wine grows as it gets older, but the wineskins become hard. New wine would cause them to break.
- 9:17 Jesus is teaching the people that the old bottles are like the old Law. The new wine and the new cloth are like the new things that Jesus was teaching them. They could not mix the old things and the new things.
- 9:23 Jewish people made music in the house after somebody had died. They also made music while people buried that person.
- 9:27 King David was an ancestor of Jesus.
- 9:38 In this story, the master of the fields is like God. The fields are like the world. The plants that are growing in the fields are like the people in the world. The workers are like the people who know the Good News about the kingdom of God. They must tell other people about God and the Good News.
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 King James Version
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic(A)
9 So He got into a boat, crossed over, (B)and came to His own city. 2 (C)Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. (D)When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, (E)knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.
8 Now when the multitudes saw it, they (F)marveled[a] and glorified God, who had given such power to men.
Matthew the Tax Collector(G)
9 (H)As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
10 (I)Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with (J)tax collectors and (K)sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: (L)‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, (M)but sinners, [b]to repentance.”
Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting(N)
14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, (O)“Why do we and the Pharisees fast [c]often, but Your disciples do not fast?”
15 And Jesus said to them, “Can (P)the [d]friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and (Q)then they will fast. 16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for [e]the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. 17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins [f]break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
A Girl Restored to Life and a Woman Healed(R)
18 (S)While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His (T)disciples.
20 (U)And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and (V)touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; (W)your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.
23 (X)When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw (Y)the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, (Z)“Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and (AA)took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the (AB)report of this went out into all that land.
Two Blind Men Healed
27 When Jesus departed from there, (AC)two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, (AD)“Son of David, have mercy on us!”
28 And when He had come into 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 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, (AE)“See that no one knows it.” 31 (AF)But when they had departed, they [g]spread the news about Him in all that [h]country.
A Mute Man Speaks
32 (AG)As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!”
34 But the Pharisees said, (AH)“He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”
The Compassion of Jesus(AI)
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, (AJ)teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease [i]among the people. 36 (AK)But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were [j]weary and scattered, (AL)like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, (AM)“The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 (AN)Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 9:8 NU were afraid
- Matthew 9:13 NU omits to repentance
- Matthew 9:14 NU brackets often as disputed.
- Matthew 9:15 Lit. sons of the bridechamber
- Matthew 9:16 Lit. that which is put on
- Matthew 9:17 burst
- Matthew 9:31 Lit. made Him known
- Matthew 9:31 Lit. land
- Matthew 9:35 NU omits among the people
- Matthew 9:36 NU, M harassed
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
