The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 Now it came about that while the people came pushing to be near him, and to have knowledge of the word of God, he was by a wide stretch of water named Gennesaret;
1
One day Jesus was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret while the people pushed their way up to him to listen to the word of God.
2 And he saw two boats by the edge of the water, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.
2
He saw two boats pulled up on the beach; the fishermen had left them and were washing the nets.
3 And he got into one of the boats, the property of Simon, and made a request to him to go a little way out from the land. And being seated he gave the people teaching from the boat.
3
Jesus got into one of the boats - it belonged to Simon - and asked him to push off a little from the shore. Jesus sat in the boat and taught the crowd.
4 And when his talk was ended, he said to Simon, Go out into deep water, and let down your nets for fish.
4
When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Push the boat out further to the deep water, and you and your partners let down your nets for a catch."
5 And Simon, answering, said, Master, we were working all night and we took nothing: but at your word I will let down the nets.
5
"Master," Simon answered, "we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will let down the nets."
6 And when they had done this, they got such a great number of fish that it seemed as if their nets would be broken;
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They let them down and caught such a large number of fish that the nets were about to break.
7 And they made signs to their friends in the other boat to come to their help. And they came, and the two boats were so full that they were going down.
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So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full of fish that the boats were about to sink.
8 But Simon, when he saw it, went down at the knees of Jesus and said, Go away from me, O Lord, for I am a sinner.
8
When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Go away from me, Lord! I am a sinful man!"
9 For he was full of wonder and so were all those who were with him, at the number of fish which they had taken;
9
He and the others with him were all amazed at the large number of fish they had caught.
10 And so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were working with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, Have no fear; from this time forward you will be a fisher of men.
10
The same was true of Simon's partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will be catching people."
11 And when they had got their boats to the land, they gave up everything and went after him.
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They pulled the boats up on the beach, left everything, and followed Jesus.
12 And it came about that while he was in one of the towns, there was a leper there: and when he saw Jesus he went down on his face in prayer to him, saying, Lord, if it is your pleasure, you have power to make me clean.
12
Once Jesus was in a town where there was a man who was suffering from a dreaded skin disease. When he saw Jesus, he threw himself down and begged him, "Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean!"
13 And he put out his hand to him and said, It is my pleasure; be clean. And straight away his disease went from him.
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Jesus reached out and touched him. "I do want to," he answered. "Be clean!" At once the disease left the man.
14 And he gave him orders: Say nothing to any man, but let the priest see you and give an offering so that you may be made clean, as the law of Moses says, and for a witness to them.
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Jesus ordered him, "Don't tell anyone, but go straight to the priest and let him examine you; then to prove to everyone that you are cured, offer the sacrifice as Moses ordered."
15 But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.
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But the news about Jesus spread all the more widely, and crowds of people came to hear him and be healed from their diseases.
16 But he went away by himself to a waste place for prayer.
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But he would go away to lonely places, where he prayed.
17 And it came about that on one of these days he was teaching; and some Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him, to make those who were ill free from their diseases.
17
One day when Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of the Law were sitting there who had come from every town in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. The power of the Lord was present for Jesus to heal the sick.
18 And some men had with them, on a bed, a man who was ill, without power of moving; and they made attempts to get him in and put him before Jesus.
18
Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a bed, and they tried to carry him into the house and put him in front of Jesus.
19 And because of the mass of people, there was no way to get him in; so they went up on the top of the house and let him down through the roof, on his bed, into the middle in front of Jesus.
19
Because of the crowd, however, they could find no way to take him in. So they carried him up on the roof, made an opening in the tiles, and let him down on his bed into the middle of the group in front of Jesus.
20 And seeing their faith he said, Man, you have forgiveness for your sins.
20
When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man, "Your sins are forgiven, my friend."
21 And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?
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The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who speaks such blasphemy! God is the only one who can forgive sins!"
22 But Jesus, who had knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
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Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Why do you think such things?
23 Which is the simpler: to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go?
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Is it easier to say, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Get up and walk'?
24 But so that you may see that on earth the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins, (he said to the man who was ill,) I say to you, Get up, and take up your bed, and go into your house.
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I will prove to you, then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, pick up your bed, and go home!"
25 And straight away he got up before them, and took up his bed and went away to his house giving praise to God.
25
At once the man got up in front of them all, took the bed he had been lying on, and went home, praising God.
26 And wonder overcame them all, and they gave glory to God; and they were full of fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
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They were all completely amazed! Full of fear, they praised God, saying, "What marvelous things we have seen today!"
27 And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.
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After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, "Follow me."
28 And giving up his business, he got up and went after him.
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Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.
29 And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them.
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Then Levi had a big feast in his house for Jesus, and among the guests was a large number of tax collectors and other people.
30 And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?
30
Some Pharisees and some teachers of the Law who belonged to their group complained to Jesus' disciples. "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and other outcasts?" they asked.
31 And Jesus, answering, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.
31
Jesus answered them, "People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick.
32 I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.
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I have not come to call respectable people to repent, but outcasts."
33 And they said to him, The disciples of John frequently go without food, and make prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your disciples take food and drink.
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Some people said to Jesus, "The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but your disciples eat and drink."
34 And Jesus said, Are you able to make the friends of the newly-married man go without food when he is with them?
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Jesus answered, "Do you think you can make the guests at a wedding party go without food as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not!
35 But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food.
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But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."
36 And he said to them, in a story, No man takes a bit of cloth from a new coat and puts it on to an old coat, for so the new coat would be damaged and the bit from the new would not go well with the old.
36
Jesus also told them this parable: "You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat. If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old.
37 And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins, for fear that the skins will be burst by the new wine, and the wine be let out, and the skins come to destruction.
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Nor do you pour new wine into used wineskins, because the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined.
38 But new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.
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Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins!
39 And no man, having had old wine, has any desire for new, for he says, The old is better.
39
And you don't want new wine after drinking old wine. "The old is better,' you say."
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.