Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech, Luke Part 2

006:002 And some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what the Law forbids on the Sabbath?"

006:003 "Have you never read so much as this," answered Jesus--"what David did when he and his followers were hungry; 006:004 how he entered the house of G.o.d and took and ate the Presented Loaves and gave some to his followers--loaves which none but the Priests are allowed to eat?"

006:005 "The Son of Man," He added, "is Lord of the Sabbath also."

006:006 On another Sabbath He had gone to the synagogue and was teaching there; and in the congregation was a man whose right arm was withered.

006:007 The Scribes and the Pharisees were on the watch to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath that they might be able to bring an accusation against Him.

006:008 He knew their thoughts, and said to the man with the withered arm, "Rise, and stand there in the middle."

And he rose and stood there.

006:009 Then Jesus said to them, "I put it to you all whether we are allowed to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil; to save a life, or to destroy it."

006:010 And looking round upon them all He said to the man, "Stretch out your arm." He did so, and the arm was restored.

006:011 But they were filled with madness, and began to discuss with one another what they should do to Jesus.

006:012 About that time He went out on one occasion into the hill country to pray; and He remained all night in prayer to G.o.d.

006:013 When it was day, He called His disciples; and He selected from among them twelve, whom He also named Apostles.

006:014 These were Simon, to whom also He had given the name of Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 006:015 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon called the Zealot; 006:016 James's relative Judas, and Judas Iscariot who proved to be a traitor.

006:017 With these He came down till He reached a level place, where there was a great crowd of His disciples, and a mult.i.tude of people from every part of Judaea, from Jerusalem, and from the sea-side district of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be cured of their diseases; 006:018 and those who were tormented by foul spirits were cured.

006:019 The whole crowd were eager to touch Him, because power went forth from him and cured every one.

006:020 Then fixing His eyes upon His disciples, Jesus said to them, "Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of G.o.d is yours.

006:021 "Blessed are you who hunger now, because your hunger shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you who now weep aloud, because you shall laugh.

006:022 "Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man's sake.

006:023 "Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!

006:024 "But alas for you rich men, because you already have your consolation!

006:025 "Alas for you who now have plenty to eat, because you will be hungry!

"Alas for you who laugh now, because you will mourn and weep aloud!

006:026 "Alas for you when men shall all have spoken well of you; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the false Prophets!

006:027 "But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies; seek the welfare of those who hate you; 006:028 bless those who curse you; pray for those who revile you.

006:029 To him who gives you a blow on one side of the face offer the other side also; and to him who is robbing you of your outer garment refuse not the under one also.

006:030 To every one who asks, give; and from him who takes away your property, do not demand it back.

006:031 And behave to your fellow men just as you would have them behave to you.

006:032 "If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you?

Why, even bad men love those who love them.

006:033 And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even bad men act thus.

006:034 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you? Even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount.

006:035 Nevertheless love your enemies, be beneficent; and lend without hoping for any repayment. Then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

006:036 Be compa.s.sionate just as your Father is compa.s.sionate.

006:037 "Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; pardon, and you shall be pardoned; 006:038 give, and gifts shall be bestowed on you. Full measure, pressed, shaken down, and running over, shall they pour into your laps; for with the same measure that you use they shall measure to you in return."

006:039 He also spoke to them in figurative language. "Can a blind man lead a blind man?" He asked; "would not both fall into the ditch?

006:040 There is no disciple who is superior to his teacher; but every one whose instruction is complete will be like his teacher.

006:041 "And why look at the splinter in your brother's eye instead of giving careful attention to the beam in your own?

006:042 How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take that splinter out of your eye,' when all the while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Vain pretender! take the beam out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

006:043 "There is no good tree that yields unsound fruit, nor again any unsound tree that yields good fruit.

006:044 Every tree is known by its own fruit. It is not from thorns that men gather figs, nor from the bramble that they can get a bunch of grapes.

006:045 A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good; and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil; for from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

006:046 "And why do you all call me 'Master, Master' and yet not do what I tell you?

006:047 Every one who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them in practice, I will show you whom he is like.

006:048 He is like a man building a house, who digs and goes deep, and lays the foundation on the rock; and when a flood comes, the torrent bursts upon that house, but is unable to shake it, because it is securely built.

006:049 But he who has heard and not practised is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation, against which the torrent bursts, and immediately it collapses, and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house."

007:001 After He had finished teaching all these things in the hearing of the people, He went into Capernaum.

007:002 Here the servant of a certain Captain, a man dear to his master, was ill and at the point of death; 007:003 and the Captain, hearing about Jesus, sent to Him some of the Jewish Elders, begging Him to come and restore his servant to health.

007:004 And they, when they came to Jesus, earnestly entreated Him, pleading, "He deserves to have this favour granted him, 007:005 for he loves our nation, and at his own expense he built our synagogue for us."

007:006 Then Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the Captain sent friends to Him with the message: "Sir, do not trouble to come. I am not worthy of having you come under my roof; 007:007 and therefore I did not deem myself worthy to come to you.

Only speak the word, and let my young man be cured.

007:008 For I too am a man obedient to authority, and have soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this or that,'

and he does it."

007:009 Jesus listened to the Captain's message and was astonished at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, "I tell you that not even in Israel have I found faith like that."

007:010 And the friends who had been sent, on returning to the house, found the servant in perfect health.

007:011 Shortly afterwards He went to a town called Nain, attended by His disciples and a great crowd of people.

007:012 And just as He reached the gate of the town, they happened to be bringing out for burial a dead man who was his mother's only son; and she was a widow; and a great number of the townspeople were with her.

007:013 The Lord saw her, was moved with pity for her, and said to her, "Do not weep."

007:014 Then He went close and touched the bier, and the bearers halted.

"Young man," He said, "I command you, wake!"

007:015 The dead man sat up and began to speak; and He restored him to his mother.

007:016 All were awe-struck, and they gave glory to G.o.d--some saying, "A Prophet, a great Prophet, has risen up among us."

Others said, "G.o.d has not forgotten His People."

007:017 And the report of what Jesus had done spread through the whole of Judaea and in all the surrounding districts.

007:018 John's disciples brought him an account of all these things; 007:019 so John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord.

"Are you the Coming One?" he asked, "or is there another that we are to expect?"

007:020 The men came to Jesus and said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you with this question: 'Are you the Coming One, or is there another that we are to expect?'"

007:021 He immediately cured many of diseases, severe pain, and evil spirits, and to many who were blind He gave the gift of sight.

007:022 Then He answered the messengers, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, deaf persons hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.

007:023 And blessed is every one who does not stumble and fall because of my claims."

007:024 When John's messengers were gone, He proceeded to say to the mult.i.tude concerning John, "What did you go out into the Desert to gaze at?

A reed waving in the wind?

007:025 But what did you go out to see? A man wearing luxurious clothes?

People who are gorgeously dressed and live in luxury are found in palaces.

007:026 But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? Aye, I tell you, and far more than a Prophet.

007:027 John is the man about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending My messenger before thy face, and he shall make ready thy way before thee.'

007:028 "I tell you that among all of women born there is not one greater than John. Yet one who is of lower rank in the Kingdom of G.o.d is greater than he.

007:029 And all the people, including the tax-gatherers, when they listened to him upheld the righteousness of G.o.d, by being baptized with John's baptism.

007:030 But the Pharisees and expounders of the Law have frustrated G.o.d's purpose as to their own lives, by refusing to be baptized.

007:031 "To what then shall I compare the men of the present generation, and what do they resemble?

007:032 They are like children sitting in the public square and calling out to one another, 'We have played the flute to you, and you have not danced: we have sung dirges, and you have not shown sorrow.'

007:033 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!'

007:034 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, there is a man who is overfond of eating and drinking-- he is a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners!'

007:035 But wisdom is justified by all who are truly wise."

007:036 Now one of the Pharisees repeatedly invited Him to a meal at his house; so He entered the house and reclined at the table.

007:037 And there was a woman in the town who was a notorious sinner.

Having learnt that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee's house she brought a flask of perfume, 007:038 and, standing behind close to His feet, weeping, began to wet His feet with her tears; and with her hair she wiped the tears away again, while she lovingly kissed His feet and poured the perfume over them.

007:039 Noticing this, the Pharisee, His host, said to himself, "This man, if he were really a Prophet, would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him-- and would know that she is an immoral woman."

007:040 In answer to his thoughts Jesus said to him, "Simon, I have a word to say to you." "Rabbi, say on," he replied.

007:041 "There were once two men in debt to one money-lender," said Jesus; "one owed him five hundred shillings and the other fifty.

007:042 But neither of them could pay anything; so he freely forgave them both. Tell me, then, which of them will love him most?"

007:043 "I suppose," replied Simon, "the one to whom he forgave most."

"You have judged rightly," Jesus rejoined.

007:044 Then turning towards the woman He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house: you gave me no water for my feet; but she has made my feet wet with her tears, and then wiped the tears away with her hair.

007:045 No kiss did you give me; but she from the moment I came in has not left off tenderly kissing my feet.

007:046 No oil did you pour even on my head; but she has poured perfume upon my feet.

007:047 This is the reason why I tell you that her sins, her many sins, are forgiven--because she has loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."

007:048 And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

007:049 Then the other guests began to say to themselves, "Who can this man be who even forgives sins?"

007:050 But He said to the woman, "Your faith has cured you: go, and be at peace."

008:001 Shortly after this He visited town after town, and village after village, proclaiming His Message and telling the Good News of the Kingdom of G.o.d. The Twelve were with Him, 008:002 and certain women whom He had delivered from evil spirits and various diseases--Mary of Magdala, out of whom seven demons had come, 008:003 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, all of whom contributed to the support of Jesus and His Apostles.