| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. | 1Now after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. |
| 2Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, | 2So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by the door, and he preached the word to them. |
| 3four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. | 3Some people came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. |
| 4They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. | 4When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. |
| 5Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” | 5When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." |
| 6But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, | 6Now some of the experts in the law were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: |
| 7“What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” | 7"Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" |
| 8Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? | 8Now immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, he said to them, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? |
| 9 Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? | 9Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk'? |
| 10 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, | 10But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"--he said to the paralytic-- |
| 11 “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” | 11"I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home." |
| 12And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew) | 12And immediately the man stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!" |
| 13Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. | 13Jesus went out again by the sea. The whole crowd came to him, and he taught them. |
| 14As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. | 14As he went along, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. And he got up and followed him. |
| 15Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) | 15As Jesus was having a meal in Levi's home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. |
| 16But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum? ” | 16When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" |
| 17When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” A Discussion about Fasting | 17When Jesus heard this he said to them, "Those who are healthy don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." |
| 18Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?” | 18Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. So they came to Jesus and said, "Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?" |
| 19Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. | 19Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast. |
| 20 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. | 20But the days are coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and at that time they will fast. |
| 21 “Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before. | 21No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse. |
| 22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.” A Discussion about the Sabbath | 22And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine is poured into new wineskins." |
| 23One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples began breaking off heads of grain to eat. | 23Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat as they made their way. |
| 24But the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, why are they breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” | 24So the Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?" |
| 25Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? | 25He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry-- |
| 26 He went into the house of God (during the days when Abiathar was high priest) and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his companions.” | 26how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the sacred bread, which is against the law for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?" |
| 27Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. | 27Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath. |
| 28 So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” | 28For this reason the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath." |
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