Luke 5:1–26

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5Now it happened that while the crowd was pressing around him and hearing the word of God, he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret,^{a 2}and he saw two boats there beside the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and^* were washing their nets. ³And he got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and^* asked him to put out from the land a little. And he sat down and^* began to teach^* the crowds from the boat. ⁴And when he stopped speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” ⁵And Simon answered and^* said, “Master, although we^* worked hard through the whole night, we caught nothing. But at your word I will let down the nets.” ⁶And when they^* did this, they caught a very large number of fish, and their nets began to tear.^{* 7}And they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and^* help them, and they came and filled both the boats so that they began to sink. ⁸And when he^* saw it,^* Simon Peter fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man!”^{b 9}For amazement had seized him and all those who were with him at the catch of fish that they had caught, ¹⁰and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were business partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid! From now on you will be catching people!” ¹¹And after they^* brought their^c boats to the land, they left everything and^* followed him.

A Leper Cleansed

¹²And it happened that while he was in one of the towns, there was^d a man covered with leprosy.^e And when he^* saw Jesus, he fell down on his face and^* begged him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” ¹³And extending his^f hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy went away from him. ¹⁴And he ordered him, “Tell no one, but go and^* show yourself to the priest and bring the offering^* for your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. ¹⁵But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear him^* and to be healed of their illnesses. ¹⁶But he himself was withdrawing in the wilderness and praying.

A Paralytic Healed

¹⁷And it happened that on one of the days as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there who had come^g from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was there in order for him to heal. ¹⁸And behold, men came carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and place him^hi before him. ¹⁹And when they^* did not find a way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and^* let him down through the roof tiles with the stretcher into the midst of them, in front of Jesus. ²⁰And when he^* saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” ²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” ²²But Jesus, perceiving their thoughts, answered and^* said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ ²⁴But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” he said to the one who was paralyzed, “I say to you, ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and^* go to your home.’ ” ²⁵And immediately he stood up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and^* went away to his home, glorifying God. ²⁶And amazement seized them all, and they began to glorify^* God. And they were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen wonderful things today!”