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Matthew 9
New Century Version
Matthew 9
New Century Version
Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man
9 Jesus got into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to Jesus a man who was paralyzed and lying on a mat. When Jesus saw the faith of these people, he said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, young man. Your sins are forgiven.”
3 Some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This man speaks as if he were God. That is blasphemy!”[a]
4 Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil thoughts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up and walk’? 6 But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Stand up, take your mat, and go home.” 7 And the man stood up and went home. 8 When the people saw this, they were amazed and praised God for giving power like this to human beings.
Jesus Chooses Matthew
9 When Jesus was leaving, he saw a man named Matthew sitting in the tax collector’s booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,” and he stood up and followed Jesus.
10 As Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Jesus and his followers. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked Jesus’ followers, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
12 When Jesus heard them, he said, “It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I want kindness more than I want animal sacrifices.’[b] I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.”
Jesus’ Followers Are Criticized
14 Then the followers of John[c] came to Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees often fast[d] for a certain time, but your followers don’t?”
15 Jesus answered, “The friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth over a hole in an old coat. If he does, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat, making the hole worse. 17 Also, people never pour new wine into old leather bags. Otherwise, the bags will break, the wine will spill, and the wine bags will be ruined. But people always pour new wine into new wine bags. Then both will continue to be good.”
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
18 While Jesus was saying these things, a leader of the synagogue came to him. He bowed down before Jesus and said, “My daughter has just died. But if you come and lay your hand on her, she will live again.” 19 So Jesus and his followers stood up and went with the leader.
20 Then a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years came behind Jesus and touched the edge of his coat. 21 She was thinking, “If I can just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw the woman and said, “Be encouraged, dear woman. You are made well because you believed.” And the woman was healed from that moment on.
23 Jesus continued along with the leader and went into his house. There he saw the funeral musicians and many people crying. 24 Jesus said, “Go away. The girl is not dead, only asleep.” But the people laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been thrown out of the house, Jesus went into the girl’s room and took hold of her hand, and she stood up. 26 The news about this spread all around the area.
Jesus Heals More People
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 After Jesus went inside, the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Because you believe I can make you see again, it will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33 After Jesus forced the demon to leave the man, he was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The prince of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News about the kingdom, and healing all kinds of diseases and sicknesses. 36 When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them because they were hurting and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Jesus said to his followers, “There are many people to harvest but only a few workers to help harvest them. 38 Pray to the Lord, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to gather his harvest.”[e]
Footnotes
- 9:3 blasphemy Saying things against God or not showing respect for God.
- 9:13 ‘I want . . . sacrifices.’ Quotation from Hosea 6:6.
- 9:14 John John the Baptist, who preached to people about Christ’s coming (Matthew 3, Luke 3).
- 9:14 fast The people would give up eating for a special time of prayer and worship to God. It was also done to show sadness and disappointment.
- 9:37–38 “There are . . . harvest.” As a farmer sends workers to harvest the grain, Jesus sends his followers to bring people to God.
Matthew 9
New International Version
Matthew 9
New International Version
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
9 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town.(B) 2 Some men brought to him a paralyzed man,(C) lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith,(D) he said to the man, “Take heart,(E) son; your sins are forgiven.”(F)
3 At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”(G)
4 Knowing their thoughts,(H) Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man(I) has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” 7 Then the man got up and went home. 8 When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God,(J) who had given such authority to man.
The Calling of Matthew(K)
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”(L) he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”(M)
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a](N) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”(O)
Jesus Questioned About Fasting(P)
14 Then John’s(Q) disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often,(R) but your disciples do not fast?”
15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?(S) The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.(T)
16 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17 Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman(U)
18 While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him(V) and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her,(W) and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.(X) 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart,(Y) daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.”(Z) And the woman was healed at that moment.(AA)
23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes,(AB) 24 he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead(AC) but asleep.”(AD) But they laughed at him. 25 After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.(AE) 26 News of this spread through all that region.(AF)
Jesus Heals the Blind and the Mute
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”(AG)
28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.(AH)
29 Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”;(AI) 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.”(AJ) 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.(AK)
32 While they were going out, a man who was demon-possessed(AL) and could not talk(AM) was brought to Jesus. 33 And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”(AN)
34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”(AO)
The Workers Are Few
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.(AP) 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them,(AQ) because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.(AR) 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest(AS) is plentiful but the workers are few.(AT) 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 9:13 Hosea 6:6
New Century Version (NCV) 
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
New International Version (NIV) 
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