Study Desk

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things ^[a](a)accomplished among us,

just as they were handed down to us by those who ^(b)from the beginning ^[b]were ^(c)eyewitnesses and ^[c](d)servants of ^(e)the ^[d]word,

it seemed fitting for me as well, ^(f)having ^[e]investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you ^(g)in consecutive order, ^(h)most excellent ⁽ⁱ⁾Theophilus;

so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been ^[f](j)taught.

^(k)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named ^[g]Zacharias, of the ^(l)division of ^[h]Abijah; and he had a wife ^[i]from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

They were both ^(m)righteous in the sight of God, walking ⁽ⁿ⁾blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.

But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in ^[j]years.

Now it happened that while ^(o)he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division,

according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot ^(p)to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense.

And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer ^(q)outside at the hour of the incense offering.

And ^(r)an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.

Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and ^(s)fear ^[k]gripped him.

But the angel said to him, "^(t)Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and ^(u)you will ^[l]give him the name John.

You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.

For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will ^(v)drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit ^[m]while yet in his mother's womb.

And he will ^(w)turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.

It is he who will ^(x)go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of ^(y)Elijah, ^(z) to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children , and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to ^(aa)make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Zacharias said to the angel, "How will I know this for certain? For ^(ab)I am an old man and my wife is advanced in ^[n]years."

The angel answered and said to him, "I am ^(ac)Gabriel, who ^[o](ad)stands in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

And behold, you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."

The people were waiting for Zacharias, and were wondering at his delay in the temple.

But when he came out, he was unable to speak to them; and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he ^(ae)kept ^[p]making signs to them, and remained mute.

When the days of his priestly service were ended, he went back home.

After these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant, and she ^[q]kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

"This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to ^(af)take away my disgrace among men."

Now in the sixth month the angel ^(ag)Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called ^(ah)Nazareth,

to ^(ai)a virgin ^[r]engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, ^(aj)of the ^[s]descendants of David; and the virgin's name was ^[t]Mary.

And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, ^[u]favored one! The Lord ^[v]is with you."

But she ^(ak)was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.

The angel said to her, "^(al)Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.

And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you ^(am)shall name Him Jesus.

He will be great and will be called the Son of ^(an)the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him ^(ao)the throne of His father David;

^(ap)and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, ^(aq)and His kingdom will have no end."

Mary said to the angel, "How ^[w]can this be, since I ^[x]am a virgin?"

The angel answered and said to her, "^(ar)The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of ^(as)the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason ^(at)the ^[y]holy Child shall be called ^(au)the Son of God.

And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and ^[z]she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

For ^[aa](av)nothing will be impossible with God."

And Mary said, "Behold, the ^[ab]bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Now ^[ac]at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to ^(aw)the hill country, to a city of Judah,

and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was ^(ax)filled with the Holy Spirit.

And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

And ^[ad]how has it happened to me, that the mother of ^(ay)my Lord would come to me?

For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy.

And ^(az)blessed is she who ^[ae]believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her ^[af]by the Lord."

And Mary said: "^(ba)My soul ^[ag](bb)exalts the Lord,

And ^(bc)my spirit has rejoiced in ^(bd)God my Savior.

"For ^(be)He has had regard for the humble state of His ^[ah]bondslave; For behold, from this time on all generations will count me ^(bf)blessed.

"For the Mighty One has done great things for me; And holy is His name.

"^(bg) And His mercy is ^[ai] upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him .

"^(bh)He has done ^[aj]mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the ^[ak]thoughts of their heart.

"He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has ^(bi)exalted those who were humble.

"^(bj) He has filled the hungry with good things ; And sent away the rich empty-handed.

"He has given help to Israel His servant, ^[al]In remembrance of His mercy,

^(bk)As He spoke to our fathers, ^(bl)To Abraham and his ^[am]descendants forever."

And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

Now the time ^[an]had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.

Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had ^[ao](bm)displayed His great mercy toward her; and they were rejoicing with her.

And it happened that on ^(bn)the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, ^[ap]after his father.

But his mother answered and said, "No indeed; but ^(bo)he shall be called John."

And they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by that name."

And they ^(bp)made signs to his father, as to what he wanted him called.

And he asked for a tablet and wrote as follows, "^(bq)His name is John." And they were all astonished.

^(br)And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God.

Fear came on all those living around them; and all these matters were being talked about in all ^(bs)the hill country of Judea.

All who heard them kept them in mind, saying, "What then will this child turn out to be?" For ^(bt)the hand of the Lord was certainly with him.

And his father Zacharias ^(bu)was filled with the Holy Spirit, and ^(bv)prophesied, saying:

"^(bw)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited us and accomplished ^(bx)redemption for His people,

And has raised up a ^(by)horn of salvation for us In the house of David ^(bz)His servant—

^(ca)As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets ^(cb)from of old—

^[aq](cc)Salvation ^(cd) from our enemies , And from the hand of all who hate us ;

^(ce)To show mercy toward our fathers, ^(cf)And to remember His holy covenant,

^(cg)The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,

To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear,

^(ch)In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.

"And you, child, will be called the ^(ci)prophet of ^(cj)the Most High; For you will go on ^(ck) before the Lord to ^(cl) prepare His ways ;

To give to His people the knowledge of salvation ^[ar]By ^(cm)the forgiveness of their sins,

Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which ^(cn)the Sunrise from on high will visit us,

^(co) To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death , To guide our feet into the ^(cp)way of peace."

^(cq)And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Now in those days a decree went out from ^(a)Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of ^(b)all ^[a]the inhabited earth.

^[b]This was the first census taken while ^[c]Quirinius was governor of ^(c)Syria.

And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because ^(d)he was of the house and family of David,

in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

And she ^(e)gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a ^[d]manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

And ^(f)an angel of the Lord suddenly ^(g)stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "^(h)Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

for today in the city of David there has been born for you a ⁽ⁱ⁾Savior, who is ^[e](j)Christ ^(k)the Lord.

^(l)This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a ^[f]manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"^(m)Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men ^[g](n)with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the ^[h]manger.

When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary ^(o)treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, ^(p)glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

And when ^(q)eight days had passed, ^[i]before His circumcision, ^(r)His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

^(s)And when the days for their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord

(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "^(t) Every firstborn male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord "),

and to offer a sacrifice according to what was said in the Law of the Lord, "^(u)A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons ."

And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was ^(v)righteous and devout, ^(w)looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

And ^(x)it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not ^(y)see death before he had seen the Lord's ^[j]Christ.

And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, ^[k](z)to carry out for Him the custom of the Law,

then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said,

"Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, ^(aa)According to Your word;

For my eyes have ^(ab)seen Your salvation,

Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

^(ac)A Light ^[l] of revelation to the Gentiles , And the glory of Your people Israel."

And His father and ^(ad)mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary ^(ae)His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for ^(af)the fall and ^[m]rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—

and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

And there was a ^(ag)prophetess, ^[n]Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of ^(ah)the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in ^[o]years ^(ai)and had lived with her husband seven years after her ^[p]marriage,

and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with ^(aj)fastings and prayers.

At that very ^[q]moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were ^(ak)looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to ^(al)their own city of Nazareth.

^(am)The Child continued to grow and become strong, ^[r]increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.

Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at ^(an)the Feast of the Passover.

And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast;

and as they were returning, after spending the ^(ao)full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it,

but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.

When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him.

Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

And all who heard Him ^(ap)were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

When they saw Him, they were astonished; and ^(aq)His mother said to Him, "^[s]Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, ^(ar)Your father and I ^[t]have been anxiously looking for You."

And He said to them, "Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that ^(as)I had to be in My Father's ^[u]house?"

But ^(at)they did not understand the statement which He ^[v]had made to them.

And He went down with them and came to ^(au)Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them; and ^(av)His mother ^(aw)treasured all these ^[w]things in her heart.

And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and ^[x]stature, and in ^(ax)favor with God and men.

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when ^(a)Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and ^(b)Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,

in the high priesthood of ^(c)Annas and ^(d)Caiaphas, ^(e)the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

And he came into all ^(f)the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, "^(g) The voice of one crying in the wilderness , ‘ Make ready the way of the Lord , Make His paths straight .

‘^(h) Every ravine will be filled , And every mountain and hill will be ^[a] brought low ; The crooked will become straight , And the rough roads smooth ;

⁽ⁱ⁾ And all ^[b] flesh will ^(j) see the salvation of God .'"

So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "^(k)You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and ^(l)do not begin to say ^[c]to yourselves, ‘^(m)We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so ⁽ⁿ⁾every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "^(o)Then what shall we do?"

And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to ^(p)share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise."

And some ^(q)tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"

And he said to them, "^[d]Collect no more than what you have been ordered to."

Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or ^(r)accuse anyone falsely, and ^(s)be content with your wages."

Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were ^[e]wondering in their hearts about John, ^(t)as to whether he was ^[f]the Christ,

^(u)John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you ^[g]with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His ^(v)winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with ^(w)unquenchable fire."

So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.

But when ^(x)Herod the tetrarch was reprimanded by him because of ^(y)Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the wicked things which ^(z)Herod had done,

Herod also added this to them all: ^(aa)he locked John up in prison.

^(ab)Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was ^(ac)praying, heaven was opened,

and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "^(ad)You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

^(ae)When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, ^[h]as was supposed, the son of ^(af)Joseph, ^[i]the son of ^[j]Eli,

the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,

the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of ^[k]Hesli, the son of Naggai,

the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda,

the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, ^(ag)the son of Zerubbabel, the son of ^[l]Shealtiel, the son of Neri,

the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,

the son of ^[m]Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,

the son of Simeon, the son of ^[n]Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,

the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David,

^(ah)the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of ^[o]Salmon, the son of ^[p]Nahshon,

the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of ^[q]Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,

the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, ^(ai)the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,

the son of Serug, the son of ^[r]Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of ^[s]Heber, the son of Shelah,

the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, ^(aj)the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,

the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,

the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

^(a)Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, ^(b)returned from the Jordan and was led around ^[a]by the Spirit in the wilderness

for ^(c)forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry.

And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

And Jesus answered him, "It is written, ‘^(d) Man shall not live on bread alone .'"

^(e)And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of ^[b](f)the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said to Him, "I will give You all this domain and ^[c]its glory; ^(g)for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Therefore if You ^[d]worship before me, it shall all be Yours."

Jesus answered him, "It is written, ‘^(h) You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only .'"

⁽ⁱ⁾And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here;

for it is written, ‘^(j) He will command His angels concerning You to guard You ,'

and, ‘^(k) On their hands they will bear You up , So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone .'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It is said, ‘^(l) You shall not put the Lord your God to the test .'"

When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.

And ^(m)Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and ⁽ⁿ⁾news about Him spread through all the surrounding district.

And He began ^(o)teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all.

And He came to ^(p)Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, ^(q)He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and ^(r)stood up to read.

And the ^[e]book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the ^[f]book and found the place where it was written,

"^(s) The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me , Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor . He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives , And recovery of sight to the blind , To set free those who are oppressed ,

^(t) To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord ."

And He ^(u)closed the ^[g]book, gave it back to the attendant and ^(v)sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.

And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your ^[h]hearing."

And all were ^[i]speaking well of Him, and wondering at the ^[j]gracious words which ^[k]were falling from His lips; and they were saying, "^(w)Is this not Joseph's son?"

And He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done ^(x)at Capernaum, do here in ^(y)your hometown as well.'"

And He said, "Truly I say to you, ^(z)no prophet is welcome in his hometown.

But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel ^(aa)in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land;

and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but ^(ab)only to ^[l]Zarephath, in the land of ^(ac)Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but ^(ad)only Naaman the Syrian."

And all the people in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;

and they got up and ^(ae)drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.

But ^(af)passing through their midst, He went His way.

And ^(ag)He came down to ^(ah)Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

and ^(ai)they were amazed at His teaching, for ^(aj)His ^[m]message was with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man ^[n]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

"Let us alone! ^[o](ak)What business do we have with each other, Jesus ^[p]of ^(al)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—^(am)the Holy One of God!"

But Jesus ^(an)rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, he came out of him without doing him any harm.

And amazement came upon them all, and they began talking with one another saying, "What is ^[q]this message? For ^(ao)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out."

And ^(ap)the report about Him was spreading into every locality in the surrounding district.

^(aq)Then He got up and left the synagogue, and entered Simon's home. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ^(ar)suffering from a high fever, and they asked Him ^[r]to help her.

And standing over her, He ^(as)rebuked the fever, and it left her; and she immediately got up and ^[s]waited on them.

^(at)While ^(au)the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and ^(av)laying His hands on each one of them, He was ^(aw)healing them.

Demons also were coming out of many, shouting, "You are ^(ax)the Son of God!" But ^(ay)rebuking them, He would ^(az)not allow them to speak, because they knew Him to be ^[t]the Christ.

^(ba)When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place; and the crowds were searching for Him, and came to Him and tried to keep Him from going away from them.

But He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, ^(bb)for I was sent for this purpose."

So He kept on preaching in the synagogues ^(bc)of ^[u]Judea.

^(a)Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around Him and listening to the word of God, He was standing by ^(b)the lake of Gennesaret;

and He saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake; but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

And ^(c)He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the land. And He sat down and began teaching the ^[a]people from the boat.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and ^(d)let down your nets for a catch."

Simon answered and said, "^(e)Master, ^(f)we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but ^[b]I will do as You say and let down the nets."

When they had done this, ^(g)they enclosed a great quantity of fish, and their nets began to break;

so they signaled to their partners in the other boat for them to come and help them. And they came and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus' ^[c]feet, saying, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

and so also were ^[d]James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "^(h)Do not fear, from now on you will be ⁽ⁱ⁾catching men."

When they had brought their boats to land, ^(j)they left everything and followed Him.

^(k)While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man ^[e]covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."

And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." And immediately the leprosy left him.

And He ordered him to tell no one, "But go and ^(l)show yourself to the priest and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

But ^(m)the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

But Jesus Himself would often slip away ^[f]to the ^[g]wilderness and ⁽ⁿ⁾pray.

^[h]One day He was teaching; and ^(o)there were some Pharisees and ^(p)teachers of the law sitting there, who had ^(q)come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and ^(r)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing.

^(s)And some men were carrying on a ^[i]bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him.

But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on ^(t)the roof and let him down ^(u)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus.

Seeing their faith, He said, "^[j]Friend, ^(v)your sins are forgiven you."

The scribes and the Pharisees ^(w)began to reason, saying, "^(x)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? ^(y)Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"

But Jesus, ^[k]aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?

Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, ‘Get up and walk'?

But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," —He said to the ^(z)paralytic— "I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home."

Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home ^(aa)glorifying God.

^[l]They were all struck with astonishment and began ^(ab)glorifying God; and they were filled ^(ac)with fear, saying, "We have seen remarkable things today."

^(ad)After that He went out and noticed a tax collector named ^[m](ae)Levi sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, "Follow Me."

And he ^(af)left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him.

And ^(ag)Levi gave a big reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of ^(ah)tax collectors and other people who were reclining at the table with them.

^(ai)The Pharisees and their scribes began grumbling at His disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and ^[n]sinners?"

And Jesus answered and said to them, "^(aj)It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

And they said to Him, "^(ak)The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do ^[o]the same, but Yours eat and drink."

And Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the ^[p]attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?

^(al)But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days."

And He was also telling them a parable: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.