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And when he completed all his sayings in the ears of the people, he went into Capernaum;

and a certain centurion's servant being ill, was about to die, who was much valued by him,

and having heard about Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, beseeching him, that having come he might thoroughly save his servant.

And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying -- `He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this,

for he doth love our nation, and the synagogue he did build to us.'

And Jesus was going on with them, and now when he is not far distant from the house the centurion sent unto him friends, saying to him, `Sir, be not troubled, for I am not worthy that under my roof thou mayest enter;

wherefore not even myself thought I worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my lad shall be healed;

for I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this [one], Go, and he goeth; and to another, Be coming, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth [it].'

And having heard these things Jesus wondered at him, and having turned to the multitude following him, he said, `I say to you, not even in Israel so much faith did I find;'

10 and those sent, having turned back to the house, found the ailing servant in health.

11 And it came to pass, on the morrow, he was going on to a city called Nain, and there were going with him many of his disciples, and a great multitude,

12 and as he came nigh to the gate of the city, then, lo, one dead was being carried forth, an only son of his mother, and she a widow, and a great multitude of the city was with her.

13 And the Lord having seen her, was moved with compassion towards her, and said to her, `Be not weeping;'

14 and having come near, he touched the bier, and those bearing [it] stood still, and he said, `Young man, to thee I say, Arise;'

15 and the dead sat up, and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother;

16 and fear took hold of all, and they were glorifying God, saying -- `A great prophet hath risen among us,' and -- `God did look upon His people.'

17 And the account of this went forth in all Judea about him, and in all the region around.

18 And the disciples of John told him about all these things,

19 and John having called near a certain two of his disciples, sent unto Jesus, saying, `Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?'

20 And having come near to him, the men said, `John the Baptist sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?'

21 And in that hour he cured many from sicknesses, and plagues, and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight.

22 And Jesus answering said to them, `Having gone on, report to John what ye saw and heard, that blind men do see again, lame do walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf do hear, dead are raised, poor have good news proclaimed;

23 and happy is he whoever may not be stumbled in me.'

24 And the messengers of John having gone away, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John: `What have ye gone forth to the wilderness to look on? a reed by the wind shaken?

25 but what have ye gone forth to see? a man in soft garments clothed? lo, they in splendid apparellings, and living in luxury, are in the houses of kings!

26 `But what have ye gone forth to see? a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet:

27 this is he concerning whom it hath been written, Lo, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee;

28 for I say to you, a greater prophet, among those born of women, than John the Baptist there is not; but the least in the reign of God is greater than he.'

29 And all the people having heard, and the tax-gatherers, declared God righteous, having been baptized with the baptism of John,

30 but the Pharisees, and the lawyers, the counsel of God did put away for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

31 And the Lord said, `To what, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?

32 they are like to children, to those sitting in a market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We piped to you, and ye did not dance, we mourned to you, and ye did not weep!

33 `For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a demon;

34 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and ye say, Lo, a man, a glutton, and a wine drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners;

35 and the wisdom was justified from all her children.'

36 And a certain one of the Pharisees was asking him that he might eat with him, and having gone into the house of the Pharisee he reclined (at meat),

37 and lo, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having known that he reclineth (at meat) in the house of the Pharisee, having provided an alabaster box of ointment,

38 and having stood behind, beside his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with the tears, and with the hairs of her head she was wiping, and was kissing his feet, and was anointing with the ointment.

39 And the Pharisee who did call him, having seen, spake within himself, saying, `This one, if he were a prophet, would have known who and of what kind [is] the woman who doth touch him, that she is a sinner.'

40 And Jesus answering said unto him, `Simon, I have something to say to thee;' and he saith, `Teacher, say on.'

41 `Two debtors were to a certain creditor; the one was owing five hundred denaries, and the other fifty;

42 and they not having [wherewith] to give back, he forgave both; which then of them, say thou, will love him more?'

43 And Simon answering said, `I suppose that to whom he forgave the more;' and he said to him, `Rightly thou didst judge.'

44 And having turned unto the woman, he said to Simon, `Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house; water for my feet thou didst not give, but this woman with tears did wet my feet, and with the hairs of her head did wipe;

45 a kiss to me thou didst not give, but this woman, from what [time] I came in, did not cease kissing my feet;

46 with oil my head thou didst not anoint, but this woman with ointment did anoint my feet;

47 therefore I say to thee, her many sins have been forgiven, because she did love much; but to whom little is forgiven, little he doth love.'

48 And he said to her, `Thy sins have been forgiven;'

49 and those reclining with him (at meat) began to say within themselves, `Who is this, who also doth forgive sins?'

50 and he said unto the woman, `Thy faith have saved thee, be going on to peace.'

The Faith of the Centurion(A)

When Jesus had finished saying all this(B) to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.(C) For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son(D)

11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord(E) saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”(F) 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 They were all filled with awe(G) and praised God.(H) “A great prophet(I) has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.”(J) 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.(K)

Jesus and John the Baptist(L)

18 John’s(M) disciples(N) told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”

20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”

21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses(O) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(P) 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

24 After John’s messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet?(Q) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

“‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
    who will prepare your way before you.’[b](R)

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God(S) is greater than he.”

29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John.(T) 30 But the Pharisees and the experts in the law(U) rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

31 Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine,(V) and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’(W) 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman(X)(Y)

36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,(Z) he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet,(AA) but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss,(AB) but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head,(AC) but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”(AD)

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you;(AE) go in peace.”(AF)

Footnotes

  1. Luke 7:22 The Greek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
  2. Luke 7:27 Mal. 3:1
  3. Luke 7:41 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).