Chapter 5

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

AND it came to pass, that, as the crowd pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

2 And saw two boats there by the lake: but the fishermen had gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

3 And He entered into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked Him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And He sat down, and taught the crowd out of the boat.

4 Now when He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon: “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.”

5 And Simon answering said to Him: “Master, we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at your word I will let down the net.”

6 And when they had done this, they caught a great multitude of fish: and their net broke.

7 And they beckoned to their partners, which were in the other boat, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying: “Depart from me Lord; for I am a sinful man.”

9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken:

10 And so were also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon: “Fear not; from henceforth you shall be catching men.”

11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left behind everything, and followed Him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

12 ¶ And it came to pass, when He was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought Him, saying: “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

13 And He put forth His hand, and touched him, saying: “I will: be clean.” And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

14 And He charged him: “Tell no man: but go, and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, for a witness to them.”

15 But so much the more, went there a report of Him abroad: and great crowds came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.

16 And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

17 ¶ And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, which had come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present for Him to heal.

18 And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was paralyzed: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before Him.

19 And when they could not find by what means they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his bed into the midst before Jesus.

20 And when He saw their faith, He said to him: “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying: “Who is this which speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?”

22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering, said to them: “Why do you reason in your hearts?

23 What is easier, to say: Your sins are forgiven you; or to say: Rise up and walk?

24 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority upon the earth to forgive sins” (He said to the paralytic): “I say to you: Arise, and take up your bed, and go into your house.”

25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying: “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus Calls Levi

27 ¶ And after these things He went forth, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of taxes: and He said to him: “Follow me.”

28 And he left all, rose up, and followed Him.

Jesus Eats with Sinners

29 And Levi made Him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of tax collectors and of others that sat down with them.

30 But their scribes and the Pharisees murmured to His disciples, saying: “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

31 And Jesus answering said to them: “Those that are whole, need not a physician; but those that are sick.

32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus Teaches About Fasting

33 ¶ And they said to Him: “Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees: but yours eat and drink?”

34 And He said to them: “Can you make the sons of the wedding hall fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

35 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.”

Parable of the Wineskins

36 ¶ And He also spoke a parable to them: “No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old; otherwise then, both the new makes a tear, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old.

37 And no man puts new wine into old wineskins; else the new wine will burst the wineskins, and be spilled, and the wineskins shall perish.

38 But new wine must be put into new wineskins; and both are preserved.

39 Also, no man having drunk old wine, at once desires the new: for he says: ‘The old is better.'”