| New Living Translation | NET Bible |
| 1One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. | 1Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. |
| 2He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. | 2He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. |
| 3Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there. | 3He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. |
| 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.” | 4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch." |
| 5“Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” | 5Simon answered, "Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets." |
| 6And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! | 6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. |
| 7A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking. | 7So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. |
| 8When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” | 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!" |
| 9For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. | 9For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, |
| 10His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed. Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” | 10and so were James and John, Zebedee's sons, who were Simon's business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." |
| 11And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy | 11So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. |
| 12In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” | 12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." |
| 13Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. | 13So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him. |
| 14Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” | 14Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, "Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." |
| 15But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. | 15But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. |
| 16But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man | 16Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. |
| 17One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus. | 17Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. |
| 18Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, | 18Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. |
| 19but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. | 19But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus. |
| 20Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.” | 20When Jesus saw their faith he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven." |
| 21But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” | 21Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, "Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" |
| 22Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? | 22When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, "Why are you raising objections within yourselves? |
| 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? | 23Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? |
| 24 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, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” | 24But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the paralyzed man--"I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home." |
| 25And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. | 25Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. |
| 26Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!” Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew) | 26Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen incredible things today." |
| 27Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. | 27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. |
| 28So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. | 28And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind. |
| 29Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. | 29Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. |
| 30But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum? ” | 30But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" |
| 31Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. | 31Jesus answered them, "Those who are well don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. |
| 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” A Discussion about Fasting | 32I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." |
| 33One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?” | 33Then they said to him, "John's disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink." |
| 34Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. | 34So Jesus said to them, "You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? |
| 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” | 35But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast." |
| 36Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. | 36He also told them a parable: "No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. |
| 37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. | 37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. |
| 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. | 38Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins. |
| 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” | 39No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, 'The old is good enough.'" |
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