Mat 9 | NASB1995 | STEP | Getting into a boat , Jesus crossed over the sea and came to His own city .

2 ^bAnd they brought to Him a ^cparalytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, ^d“Take courage, ^{▼▼ Lit child}son; ^fyour sins are forgiven.” 3 And some of the scribes said ^{▼▼ Lit among}to themselves, “This fellow ^hblasphemes.” 4 And Jesus ⁱknowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? 5 “Which is easier, to say, ‘ ^jYour sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, and walk’? 6 “But so that you may know that ^kthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”— then He said to the ^lparalytic, “Get up, pick up your bed and go home.” 7 And he got up and ^{▼▼ Or departed}went home. 8 But when the crowds saw this, they were ^{▼▼ Lit afraid}awestruck, and ^oglorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew Called

9 ^pAs Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called ^qMatthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, ^r“Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.

10 Then it happened that as ^{▼▼ Lit He}Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and ^{▼▼ I.e. irreligious Jews}sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, ^u“Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “It is not ^vthose who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 “But go and learn ^{▼▼ Lit what is
,} ^xwhat this means: ‘ ^yI desire ^{▼▼ Or mercy} compassion, ^{▼▼ I.e. more than} and not sacrifice,’ for ^abI did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

The Question about Fasting

14 Then the disciples of John came to Him, asking, “Why do we and ^acthe Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “The ^{▼▼ Lit sons of the wedding place}attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16 “But no one puts ^{▼▼ Lit that which is put on}a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for ^{▼▼ Lit that which fills up}the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. 17 “Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Miracles of Healing

18 ^agWhile He was saying these things to them, ^{▼▼ Or one}a synagogue ^{▼▼ Lit ruler}official came and ^{▼▼ Or worshiped
,} ^akbowed down before Him, and said, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did His disciples.

20 And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched ^althe ^{▼▼ I.e. tassel fringe with a blue cord}fringe of His ^{▼▼ Or outer garment}cloak; 21 for she was saying ^{▼▼ Lit in herself}to herself, “If I only ^aptouch His garment, I will ^{▼▼ Lit be saved}get well.” 22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, “Daughter, ^artake courage; ^asyour faith has ^{▼▼ Lit saved you}made you well.” ^{▼▼ Lit from that hour}At once the woman was ^{▼▼ Lit saved}made well.

23 When Jesus came into the ^{▼▼ Lit ruler’s}official’s house, and saw ^axthe flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder, 24 He said, “Leave; for the girl ^ayhas not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him. 25 But ^azwhen the crowd had been sent out, He entered and ^batook her by the hand, and the girl ^{▼▼ Or was raised up}got up. 26 ^bcThis news spread throughout all that land.

27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, ^bdSon of David!” 28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, ^{▼▼ Or Let it be done; Gr command}“It shall be done to you ^bfaccording to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus ^bgsternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and ^bhspread the news about Him throughout all that land.

32 As they were going out, ^bia mute, ^bjdemon-possessed man ^{▼▼ Lit they brought}was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, ^bl“Nothing like this has ^{▼▼ Lit ever appeared}ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He ^bncasts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, ^boteaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

36 ^bpSeeing the ^{▼▼ Lit crowds}people, He felt compassion for them, ^brbecause they were ^{▼▼ Or harassed}distressed and ^{▼▼ Lit thrown down}dispirited like sheep ^{▼▼ Lit not having}without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, ^bv“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”