1 ARST Then Jesus called together his 12 representatives and gave them the right and power to drive out all kinds of demons and to heal{ people’ s} diseases. BSB BSB: Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.
2 ARST He sent them out to announce{ the good news about} how God would rule as king. He told them to heal people who were sick. BSB BSB: And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
3 ARST { Before they left,} he said to them,“Do not take anything with you for your journey. Do not take a walking stick or a traveler’ s bag or food or money. Do not bring an extra tunic. BSB BSB: “Take nothing for the journey,” He told them, “no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no second tunic.
4 ARST Whatever house you enter, stay in that house until you leave that area. BSB BSB: Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that area.
5 ARST If the people in any town do not welcome you, you should not stay there. Instead, leave that town and, as you go, shake its dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them{ for rejecting you}.” BSB BSB: If anyone does not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that town, as a testimony against them.”
6 ARST Then Jesus’ disciples left and traveled through many villages. Everywhere they went, they talked to people about the good news from God, and they healed sick people. BSB BSB: So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
7 ARST Herod, the ruler over the district of Galilee, heard about everything that was happening, and he was perplexed. Some people were saying that John the Baptizer had become alive again. BSB BSB: When Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, he was perplexed. For some were saying that John had risen from the dead,
8 ARST Other people were saying that the prophet Elijah had appeared again. Still others were saying that one of the other prophets from long ago had become alive again. BSB BSB: others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that a prophet of old had arisen.
9 ARST But Herod said,“It cannot be John, because I had his head cut off. So who is this man? I keep hearing such amazing things about him!” And he kept looking for a way to see Jesus. BSB BSB: “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “but who is this man I hear such things about?” And he kept trying to see Jesus.
10 ARST When Jesus’ representatives returned from their trip, they told Jesus everything that they had done. Then he took them aside to go by themselves with him to the town of Bethsaida. BSB BSB: Then the apostles returned and reported to Jesus all that they had done. Taking them away privately, He withdrew to a town called Bethsaida.
11 ARST But when the crowds learned where Jesus had gone, they followed him there. He welcomed them and spoke to them about how God was going to rule as king. He also healed those who were sick. BSB BSB: But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.
12 ARST Now it was getting late in the day, so Jesus’ 12 representatives came to him and said,“Please send this large crowd of people away so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms to get some food and find places to stay, since we are out here in this isolated place.” BSB BSB: As the day neared its end, the Twelve came to Jesus and said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside for lodging and provisions. For we are in a desolate place here.”
13 ARST But he said to them,“You must give them something to eat!” They replied,“All we have are five small loaves of bread and two small fish. We could never go buy enough food for all these people!” BSB BSB: But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered, “unless we go and buy food for all these people.”
14 ARST { They said this} because there were about 5000 men there. Then Jesus said to the disciples,“Have the people sit down in groups. Put about 50 people in each group.” BSB BSB: (There were about five thousand men.) He told His disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.”
15 ARST So the disciples did that, and the people all sat down. BSB BSB: They did so, and everyone was seated.
16 ARST Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and praised God for them. Then he divided the bread and fish into pieces and gave them to the disciples for them to distribute to the people. BSB BSB: Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
17 ARST They all ate, and everyone had enough to eat. Then the disciples collected the leftover pieces of food, which filled 12 baskets! BSB BSB: They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
18 ARST One day while Jesus was praying in private, with his disciples nearby, he asked them,“Who do the crowds say that I am?” BSB BSB: One day as Jesus was praying in private and the disciples were with Him, He questioned them: “Who do the crowds say I am?”
19 ARST They replied,“{ Some people say that you are} John the Baptizer, but others say that you are the prophet Elijah, and still others say that you are one of the other prophets from long ago who has come back to life again.” BSB BSB: They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that a prophet of old has arisen.”
20 ARST He asked them,“What about you? Who do you say that I am?” Peter replied,“You are the Messiah, who has come from God.” BSB BSB: “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
21 ARST Then Jesus warned them strongly not to tell that to anyone yet. BSB BSB: Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
22 ARST Then he said,“I, the Son of Man, must suffer many things: The elders, chief priests, and teachers of the Jewish laws will reject me and kill me. Then, on the third day after that, I will come back to life again.” BSB BSB: “The Son of Man must suffer many things,” He said. “He must be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
23 ARST Then he said to them all,“If any one of you wants to be my disciple, you must not do only what you want to do. Rather, every day you must be willing to suffer, even to the point of giving up your life. That is how to be my disciple. BSB BSB: Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
24 ARST { You must do that} because those who try to save their own lives will lose them eternally, but those who give up their lives in order to become my disciples will save their lives eternally. BSB BSB: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
25 ARST After all, how does it benefit you if you gain everything in this world but you then end up losing, or even destroying, your own self? BSB BSB: What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
26 ARST Suppose someone is afraid to say that they believe in me and that they follow my teaching. Then, I, the Son of Man, will say that such a person does not belong to me. This will happen when I come back in my glory and in the glory of God the Father and of the holy angels. BSB BSB: If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
27 ARST But you can be sure of this: Some of you who are standing here now will not die until you see God ruling as king!” BSB BSB: But I tell you truly, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”
28 ARST About eight days after Jesus said those things, he took Peter, John, and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray{ there}. BSB BSB: About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.
29 ARST While he was praying, the appearance of his face became very different, and his clothes began to shine brightly. BSB BSB: And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.
30 ARST All at once, two{ prophets from long ago} were there talking with Jesus. They were Moses and Elijah. BSB BSB: Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.
31 ARST These men appeared surrounded in glory. They spoke with Jesus about how he was going to die. This was something that was going to happen soon in Jerusalem. BSB BSB: They appeared in glory and spoke about His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
32 ARST Peter and the other disciples who were with him were very sleepy. But when they woke up fully, they saw how brightly Jesus was shining. They also saw Moses and Elijah standing with him. BSB BSB: Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.
33 ARST As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave Jesus, Peter said to him,“Master, it is good for us to be here! We should make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah!” But he really did not realize what he was saying. BSB BSB: As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
34 ARST As he was saying these things, a cloud formed and covered them. The disciples were afraid as the cloud surrounded them. BSB BSB: While Peter was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
35 ARST God’ s voice spoke to them from the cloud, saying,“This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him!” BSB BSB: And a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him!”
36 ARST When the voice had finished speaking,{ the three disciples saw that} only Jesus was there. They kept all this to themselves. For a long time they did not tell anyone what they had seen. BSB BSB: After the voice had spoken, only Jesus was present with them. The disciples kept this to themselves, and in those days they did not tell anyone what they had seen.
37 ARST The next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd of people met Jesus. BSB BSB: The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a large crowd.
38 ARST Suddenly a man from the crowd called out,“Teacher, I plead with you, do something to help my son! He is my only child. BSB BSB: Suddenly a man in the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only child.
39 ARST Here is what is happening. An evil spirit suddenly seizes him and causes him to scream. It shakes him violently and causes him to foam at the mouth. This spirit hardly ever leaves my child and, when it does, it injures him severely. BSB BSB: A spirit keeps seizing him, and he screams abruptly. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It keeps mauling him and rarely departs from him.
40 ARST I pleaded with your disciples to command the evil spirit to come out of him, but they were not able to do it!” BSB BSB: I begged Your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable.”
41 ARST In response, Jesus said,“This generation of people does not believe, and so its thinking is corrupt! How much longer must I be with you before you believe?”{ Then he said to the boy’ s father,}“Bring your son here to me!” BSB BSB: “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
42 ARST While they were bringing the boy to him, the demon threw the boy down to the ground and shook him severely. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he returned him to his father. BSB BSB: Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
43 ARST Then all the people there were completely amazed at the great power God had shown. While they were all still marveling at all the miracles Jesus was doing, he said to his disciples, BSB BSB: And they were all astonished at the greatness of God. While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus was doing, He said to His disciples,
44 ARST “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you, because someone will soon hand me, the Son of Man, over to my enemies.” BSB BSB: “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”
45 ARST But the disciples did not understand what he meant by this. God prevented them from understanding it so that they would not know yet what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him about what he had said. BSB BSB: But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
46 ARST Sometime later, the disciples began to argue among themselves about which one of them would be the most important. BSB BSB: Then an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest.
47 ARST But Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he brought a young child over and had the child stand beside him. BSB BSB: But Jesus, knowing the thoughts of their hearts, had a little child stand beside Him.
48 ARST He said to them,“If someone welcomes a little child like this one because of me, it is the same as welcoming me. And if someone welcomes me, it is the same as welcoming God, who sent me. Remember that those among you who seem to be the least important are the ones whom God considers to be most important.” BSB BSB: And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you, he is the greatest.”
49 ARST John replied to Jesus,“Master, we saw a man who was using your name to command demons to come out of people. But we told him to stop doing that, because he was not working closely with you the way we are.” BSB BSB: “Master,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not accompany us.”
50 ARST But Jesus told John,“Do not stop him from doing that! If someone is not doing something that is harmful to you, then what he is doing is helpful to you!” BSB BSB: “Do not stop him,” Jesus replied, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
52 ARST He sent some messengers ahead of him. They traveled on and went into a village in the region of Samaria to try to arrange for him to stay there. BSB BSB: He sent messengers on ahead, who went into a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
53 ARST But the Samaritans would not let Jesus stay in their village, because he was on his way to Jerusalem. BSB BSB: But the people there refused to welcome Him, because He was heading for Jerusalem.
55 ARST But Jesus turned{ to them} and sternly told them they were wrong to say that. BSB BSB: But Jesus turned and rebuked them.
56 ARST So they went to a different village. BSB BSB: And He and His disciples went on to another village.
57 ARST As Jesus and the disciples were walking along the road, someone said to him,“I will go with you wherever you go!” BSB BSB: As they were walking along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 ARST Jesus replied,“Foxes have holes in the ground to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, do not have a home to sleep in!” BSB BSB: Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
59 ARST Jesus said to a different person,“Come with me!” But that person said,“Lord, let me first go home and bury my father.” BSB BSB: Then He said to another man, “Follow Me.” The man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 ARST But Jesus said to him,“Let the dead bury their own dead. I want you to go and tell people everywhere that they can have God rule their lives.” BSB BSB: But Jesus told him, “Let the dead bury their own dead. You, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
61 ARST Someone else said,“Lord, I will come with you and be your disciple, but first let me go home to say goodbye to my family.” BSB BSB: Still another said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first let me bid farewell to my family.”
62 ARST Jesus said to him,“Anyone who is like a farmer who tries to plow his field while looking behind him is not able to serve God as his ruler.” BSB BSB: Then Jesus declared, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”