^19 (A)But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his ^[a]brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, ²⁰ also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry^(A)

^12 (B)Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

^17 (E)From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ^(F)“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven ^[a]is at hand.”

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples^(G)

^18 (H)And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon ^(I)called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁹ Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and ^(J)I will make you fishers of men.” ^20 (K)They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

^21 (L)Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, ²² and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude^(M)

²³ And Jesus went about all Galilee, ^(N)teaching in their synagogues, preaching ^(O)the gospel of the kingdom, ^(P)and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. ²⁴ Then ^[b]His fame went throughout all Syria; and they ^(Q)brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. ^25 (R)Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from ^[c]Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry^(A)

^14 (B)Then Jesus returned ^(C)in the power of the Spirit to ^(D)Galilee, and ^(E)news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He ^(F)taught in their synagogues, ^(G)being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(H)

¹⁶ So He came to ^(I)Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, ^(J)He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is ^(M)fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and ^(N)marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ^(O)“Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in ^(P)Capernaum,^[c] do also here in ^(Q)Your country.’ ” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no ^(R)prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, ^(S)many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to ^[d]Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ^27 (T)And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were ^(U)filled with ^[e]wrath, ^29 (V)and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then ^(W)passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Four Fishermen Called as Disciples^(A)

5 So ^(B)it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to ^(C)hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, ² and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. ³ Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He ^(D)sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

⁴ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ^(E)“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught ^(F)nothing; nevertheless ^(G)at Your word I will let down the net.” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. ⁷ So 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. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ^(H)“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

⁹ For he and all who were with him were ^(I)astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. ^(J)From now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, ^(K)they ^[a]forsook all and followed Him.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper^(L)

^12 (M)And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of ^(N)leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and ^[b]implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

¹³ Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ^(O)Immediately the leprosy left him. ^14 (P)And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, ^(Q)just as Moses commanded.”

¹⁵ However, ^(R)the report went around concerning Him all the more; and ^(S)great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. ^16 (T)So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and ^(U)prayed.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic^(V)

¹⁷ Now it happened on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present ^[c]to heal them. ^18 (W)Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. ¹⁹ And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst ^(X)before Jesus.

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

^21 (Y)And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? ^(Z)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

²² But when Jesus ^(AA)perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts? ²³ Which 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 power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, ^(AB)“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

²⁵ Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, ^(AC)glorifying God. ²⁶ And they were all amazed, and they ^(AD)glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit^(A)

^21 (B)Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the ^(C)synagogue and taught. ^22 (D)And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³ Now there was a man in their synagogue with an ^(E)unclean spirit. And he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Let us alone! ^(F)What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I ^(G)know who You are—the ^(H)Holy One of God!”

²⁵ But Jesus ^(I)rebuked him, saying, ^[a]“Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And when the unclean spirit ^(J)had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. ²⁷ Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ^[b]“What is this? What new ^[c]doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ And immediately His ^(K)fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed^(L)

^29 (M)Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ³¹ So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset^(N)

^32 (O)At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and ^(P)cast out many demons; and He ^(Q)did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

Preaching in Galilee^(R)

³⁵ Now ^(S)in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a ^[d]solitary place; and there He ^(T)prayed. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. ³⁷ When they found Him, they said to Him, ^(U)“Everyone ^(V)is looking for You.”

³⁸ But He said to them, ^(W)“Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because ^(X)for this purpose I have come forth.”

^39 (Y)And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and ^(Z)casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper^(AA)

^40 (AB)Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Then Jesus, moved with ^(AC)compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” ⁴² As soon as He had spoken, ^(AD)immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. ⁴³ And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things ^(AE)which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

^45 (AF)However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; ^(AG)and they came to Him from every direction.

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralytic^(AH)

2 And again ^(AI)He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. ^2 [e]Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. ³ Then they came to Him, bringing a ^(AJ)paralytic who was carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵ When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? ^(AK)Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ^9 (AL)Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has ^[f]power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹ “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” ¹² Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and ^(AM)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”