Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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Women Who Accompanied Jesus
1 Some time later Jesus traveled
through towns and villages,
preaching the Good News about the
Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples
went with him,
2 and so did
some women who had been healed
of evil spirits and diseases: Mary
(who was called Magdalene), from
whom seven demons had been
driven out;
3 Joanna, whose husband
Chuza was an officer in Herod's
court; and Susanna, and many other
women who used their own resources
to help Jesus and his disciples. note
The Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.1–9; Mark 4.1–9)
4 People kept coming to Jesus
from one town after another; and
when a great crowd gathered, Jesus
told this parable:
5 “Once there was a man who
went out to sow grain. As he scattered
the seed in the field, some of it
fell along the path, where it was
stepped on, and the birds ate it up.
6 Some of it fell on rocky ground,
and when the plants sprouted, they
dried up because the soil had no
moisture.
7 Some of the seed fell
among thorn bushes, which grew up
with the plants and choked them.
8 And some seeds fell in good soil;
the plants grew and bore grain, one
hundred grains each.”
8 And Jesus concluded, “Listen,
then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables
(Matthew 13.10–17; Mark 4.10–12)
9 His disciples asked Jesus what
this parable meant,
10 and he answered,
“The knowledge of the secrets
of the Kingdom of God has
been given to you, but to the rest it
comes by means of parables, so that
they may look but not see, and listen
but not understand. note
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.18–23; Mark 4.13–20)
11 “This is what the parable means:
the seed is the word of God.
12 The
seeds that fell along the path stand
for those who hear; but the Devil
comes and takes the message away
from their hearts in order to keep
them from believing and being
saved.
13 The seeds that fell on rocky
ground stand for those who hear the
message and receive it gladly. But it
does not sink deep into them; they
believe only for a while but when the
time of testing comes, they fall
away.
14 The seeds that fell among
thorn bushes stand for those who
hear; but the worries and riches and
pleasures of this life crowd in and
choke them, and their fruit never
ripens.
15 The seeds that fell in good
soil stand for those who hear the
message and retain it in a good and
obedient heart, and they persist until
they bear fruit.
A Lamp under a Bowl
(Mark 4.21–25)
16 “No one lights a lamp and covers
it with a bowl or puts it under a
bed. Instead, he puts it on the lampstand,
so that people will see the
light as they come in. note
-- --
17 “Whatever is hidden away will
be brought out into the open, and
whatever is covered up will be found
and brought to light. note
18 “Be careful, then, how you listen;
because whoever has something
will be given more, but whoever has
nothing will have taken away from
him even the little he thinks he has.” note
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
(Matthew 12.46–50; Mark 3.31–35)
19 Jesus' mother and brothers
came to him, but were unable to join
him because of the crowd.
20 Someone
said to Jesus, “Your mother and
brothers are standing outside and
want to see you.”
21 Jesus said to them all, “My
mother and brothers are those who
hear the word of God and obey it.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
(Matthew 8.23–27; Mark 4.35–41)
22 One day Jesus got into a boat
with his disciples and said to them,
“Let us go across to the other side of
the lake.” So they started out.
23 As
they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep.
Suddenly a strong wind blew down
on the lake, and the boat began to fill
with water, so that they were all in
great danger.
24 The disciples went to
Jesus and woke him up, saying,
“Master, Master! We are about to
die!”
24 Jesus got up and gave an order to
the wind and to the stormy water;
they quieted down, and there was a
great calm.
25 Then he said to the disciples,
“Where is your faith?”
25 But they were amazed and afraid,
and said to one another, “Who is
this man? He gives orders to the
winds and waves, and they obey
him!”
Jesus Heals a Man with Demons
(Matthew 8.28–34; Mark 5.1–20)
26 Jesus and his disciples sailed on
over to the territory of Gerasa, note
which is across the lake from Galilee.
27 As Jesus stepped ashore, he
was met by a man from the town
who had demons in him. For a long
time this man had gone without
clothes and would not stay at home,
but spent his time in the burial
caves.
28 When he saw Jesus, he gave
a loud cry, threw himself down at
his feet, and shouted, “Jesus, Son of
the Most High God! What do you
want with me? I beg you, don't punish
me!”
29 He said this because
Jesus had ordered the evil spirit to
go out of him. Many times it had
seized him, and even though he was
kept a prisoner, his hands and feet
tied with chains, he would break the
chains and be driven by the demon
out into the desert.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your
name?”
30 “My name is ‘Mob,’” he answered
—because many demons had
gone into him.
31 The demons begged
Jesus not to send them into the
abyss. note
32 There was a large herd of pigs
near by, feeding on a hillside. So the
demons begged Jesus to let them go
into the pigs, and he let them.
33 They
went out of the man and into the
pigs. The whole herd rushed down
the side of the cliff into the lake and
was drowned.
34 The men who had been taking
care of the pigs saw what happened,
so they ran off and spread the news
in the town and among the farms.
35 People went out to see what had
happened, and when they came to
Jesus, they found the man from
whom the demons had gone out sitting
at the feet of Jesus, clothed and
in his right mind; and they were all
afraid.
36 Those who had seen it told
the people how the man had been
cured.
37 Then all the people from
that territory asked Jesus to go
away, because they were terribly
afraid. So Jesus got into the boat
and left.
38 The man from whom the
-- --
demons had gone out begged Jesus,
“Let me go with you.”
38 But Jesus sent him away, saying,
39 “Go back home and tell what God
has done for you.”
39 The man went through the town,
telling what Jesus had done for him.
Jairus' Daughter and the Woman Who
Touched Jesus' Cloak
(Matthew 9.18–26; Mark 5.21–43)
40 When Jesus returned to the other
side of the lake, the people welcomed
him, because they had all
been waiting for him.
41 Then a man
named Jairus arrived; he was an official
in the local synagogue. He threw
himself down at Jesus' feet and
begged him to go to his home,
42 because
his only daughter, who was
twelve years old, was dying.
42 As Jesus went along, the people
were crowding him from every side.
43 Among them was a woman who
had suffered from severe bleeding
for twelve years; she had spent all
she had on doctors, note but no one had
been able to cure her.
44 She came up
in the crowd behind Jesus and
touched the edge of his cloak, and
her bleeding stopped at once.
45 Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”
45 Everyone denied it, and Peter said,
“Master, the people are all around
you and crowding in on you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone
touched me, for I knew it when
power went out of me.”
47 The
woman saw that she had been found
out, so she came trembling and
threw herself at Jesus' feet. There in
front of everybody, she told him
why she had touched him and how
she had been healed at once.
48 Jesus
said to her, “My daughter, your faith
has made you well. Go in peace.”
49 While Jesus was saying this, a
messenger came from the official's
house. “Your daughter has died,” he
told Jairus; “don't bother the
Teacher any longer.”
50 But Jesus heard it and said to
Jairus, “Don't be afraid; only believe,
and she will be well.”
51 When he arrived at the house, he
would not let anyone go in with him
except Peter, John, and James, and
the child's father and mother.
52 Everyone
there was crying and mourning
for the child. Jesus said, “Don't
cry; the child is not dead—she is
only sleeping!”
53 They all made fun of him, because
they knew that she was dead.
54 But Jesus took her by the hand and
called out, “Get up, child!”
55 Her life
returned, and she got up at once,
and Jesus ordered them to give her
something to eat.
56 Her parents
were astounded, but Jesus commanded
them not to tell anyone
what had happened.
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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