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And it came to pass when He was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, seeing Jesus, fell on his face and besought Him, saying, "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."
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And He put forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be thou clean." And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
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And He charged him to tell no man, but, "Go and show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing according as Moses commanded, as a testimony unto them."
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But so much the more His fame spread abroad, and great multitudes came together to hear and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
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And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness and prayed.
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And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was present to heal them.
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And behold, men brought in on a bed a man who was taken with a palsy, and they sought means to bring him in and to lay him before Him.
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And when they could not find a way to bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down on his couch through the tiling into the midst before Jesus.
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And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, "Man, thy sins are forgiven thee."
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And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
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But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answering said unto them, "What reason ye in your hearts:
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whether it is easier to say, `Thy sins be forgiven thee,' or to say, `Rise up and walk'?
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But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power upon earth to forgive sins," He said unto the one sick with the palsy, "I say unto thee, arise and take up thy couch and go into thine house."
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And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
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And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen strange things today."
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And after these things He went forth and saw a publican named Levi, sitting in the customhouse, and He said unto him, "Follow Me."
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And he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
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And Levi made Him a great feast in his own house, and there was a great company of publicans and of others who sat down with them.
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But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against His disciples, saying, "Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?"
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And Jesus answering said unto them, "They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.
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I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."