Luke 5

One day the crowd was pressing in around Jesus to hear the word of God, and he was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret.

1And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

NoteThe lake of Gennesaret is the same water called the Sea of Galilee and the Sea of Tiberias elsewhere: a freshwater lake in the north of the country, about thirteen miles long and eight across, ringed with fishing villages and a busy trade in salted fish.

2He saw two boats sitting at the edge of the lake. The fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

2And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

NoteThe 'ships' of the King James are ordinary fishing boats, open wooden craft around twenty five feet long, worked by a crew of a few men with oars and a sail. Nets were washed and spread out after every night's work to clear the weed, silt and debris out of the mesh.

3He got into one of the boats, the one that belonged to Simon, and asked him to push out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

3And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Note'Prayed him' in 1611 English simply means asked him, with no religious sense attached: you prayed a neighbor to lend you a tool. Sitting was the normal teaching posture, and water carries a voice, so a boat pushed a few yards out makes a serviceable platform for speaking to a crowd on the shore.

4When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Go out where the water is deep, and let down your nets to catch some fish."

4Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

NoteA 'draught' in this English is a haul: whatever is drawn up in one pull of the net. The word has nothing to do with a draft of air or of drink.

5Simon answered him, "Master, we worked hard all night long and caught nothing. But because you say so, I will let down the net."

5And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

NoteFishing on this lake was done at night, when the fish cannot see the net, so Simon is reporting a whole working shift with nothing to show for it. The word he uses for 'Master' is not the ordinary word for a teacher; it means a person set over others, a chief or overseer, the sort of word a workman uses to a foreman. Luke is the only Gospel writer who uses it.

6When they did this, they caught so many fish that their net began to tear.

6And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.

7So they waved to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came, and they filled both boats so full that the boats started to sink.

7And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord, because I am a sinful man."

8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

NoteLuke has called this man Simon up to now. Peter is a nickname, from the Greek for a stone or rock, which Luke records Jesus giving him later; here Luke uses both names together because Peter is the name his readers know him by.

9He said this because he and everyone with him were amazed at the catch of fish they had brought in.

9For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:

10James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who worked with Simon, were amazed too. Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid. From now on you will catch people."

10And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

NoteFishermen on this lake worked in small partnerships, family businesses that shared boats, nets, hired hands and the proceeds, so James and John are Simon's business associates as well as his neighbors. The word translated 'catch' in 'catch men' is not the usual word for netting fish. It means to take alive, to capture something without killing it, and was used of taking prisoners rather than of landing a catch.

11So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

11And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man who was covered with leprosy came to him. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."

12And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

Note'Leprosy' in the Bible covers a range of visible, spreading skin conditions, not only the modern disease of that name. Under the law in Leviticus 13 and 14 a person in this state was ritually unclean and had to live apart from the community, with torn clothes and uncovered head, calling out a warning to anyone who came near. So 'make me clean' asks for more than a cure: it asks for a life among other people again.

13Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be clean." And right away the leprosy left him.

13And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.

NoteTouching such a person would ordinarily have made the toucher unclean as well, which is why the detail is reported rather than passed over.

14Jesus ordered him to tell no one. "But go," he said, "and show yourself to the priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing that Moses commanded, as proof to them."

14And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and shew thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

NoteOnly a priest could certify that the condition had gone, so the priesthood served as the public health authority of the system as well as its clergy. Leviticus 14 lays out the ceremony that followed: eight days, two birds, lambs, flour and oil. 'For a testimony unto them' means the certification would stand as evidence; who 'them' refers to, the priests or people in general, is left open in the Greek.

15But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds came together to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses.

15But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities.

Note'Fame' in 1611 English means report or news, what is being said about a person. It carries none of the modern sense of celebrity.

16But he would go away by himself into a lonely place to pray.

16And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

NoteThe King James 'wilderness' does not mean sandy desert. It is open, unfarmed country, rough grazing and scrub away from the villages, which is simply where a person went to be out of reach of a crowd.

17One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby. They had come out of every village of Galilee and of Judea, and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was there for him to heal.

17And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

NoteThe Pharisees were a strict religious movement, largely laymen, who worked out how the law of Moses applied to the details of daily life: food, purity, tithing, the sabbath. 'Doctors of the law' means teachers or experts in that law, professional interpreters of it. Jerusalem lay some eighty miles south, several days of travel, so this is not a casual local audience. The last clause is ambiguous in the manuscripts: some read that the power was present to heal 'them', others simply that it was present for him to heal.

18Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to find a way to bring him inside and lay him in front of Jesus.

18And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him.

Note'Palsy' in 1611 English means paralysis of any sort; the modern word has narrowed to particular conditions involving tremor or weakness. The 'bed' and 'couch' of the King James is a light sleeping mat or pallet that one man could roll up and carry under his arm.

19When they could not find a way to get him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof. They lowered him on his mat through the tiles, into the middle of the room, right in front of Jesus.

19And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.

NoteHouses had flat roofs reached by an outside stair, used for sleeping, drying fruit and storage, so getting up there was routine. A village roof was usually beams laid across, covered with brush and packed clay; Luke's word 'tiling' points instead to roofing tiles, found in more Greek style building. Either could be broken open and afterwards repaired.

20When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."

20And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.

Note'Man' here translates the normal Greek way of addressing someone whose name you are not using. It is not a rebuke or a distancing; the tone is nearer to 'friend'.

21The scribes and the Pharisees began to think it over, saying, "Who is this man who speaks against God? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

21And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

NoteScribes were the professional writers and legal experts of the day, the men who copied, taught and applied the law of Moses. 'Blasphemy' means speech that insults God or claims for oneself what belongs to God alone. Under Leviticus 24 it was a capital charge, so what these men are weighing is not a difference of opinion.

22But Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he answered them, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

22But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?

23Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

23Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

24But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." Then he said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, pick up your mat, and go home."

24But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.

Note'Son of man' is the phrase Jesus regularly uses of himself. In ordinary Hebrew and Aramaic it means simply a human being, and could serve as a modest way of saying 'I'. It is also the phrase in Daniel 7 for a figure who comes with the clouds of heaven and is given authority and a kingdom. The Greek holds both senses open and does not choose between them. Notice too that the sentence is never finished: Luke breaks in with 'he said unto the sick of the palsy', and the thing done takes the place of the rest of the sentence.

25Right away the man stood up in front of them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home praising God.

25And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.

26Everyone was amazed, and they praised God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

26And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

Note'Strange things' in 1611 English means extraordinary or unheard of things, not weird or disturbing ones. The Greek word is the one behind 'paradox': things that run contrary to expectation.

27After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. Jesus said to him, "Follow me."

27And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.

NoteA publican is not an innkeeper. He is a tax or toll collector, a local man who had bought or been granted the right to collect duty in a district and who lived on whatever he could take above what he owed the authorities. The 'receipt of custom' is the tollbooth where duty was charged on goods passing through; Capernaum sat on a trade road near a frontier, so the post was worth having. Such men were widely despised, both as collaborators with the occupying power and as men with a licence to overcharge. Matthew's Gospel gives this same man the name Matthew.

28So Levi left everything, got up, and followed him.

28And he left all, rose up, and followed him.

29Levi gave a great banquet for Jesus at his own house. A large group of tax collectors and other people were at the table with them.

29And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them.

NoteAt a formal banquet guests did not sit on chairs but reclined on low couches around the table, propped on the left elbow, which is what the King James 'sat down with them' describes. Sharing a table in this way was a public act of acceptance, which is why the company at it is worth remarking on.

30But the Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

30But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?

Note'Sinners' here is close to a technical label in the mouths of the objectors. It covered people whose trade or manner of life put them outside strict observance of the law, as well as people of openly bad reputation. It is the complainers' word for these guests, not Luke's own description of them.

31Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. Sick people do.

31And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.

Note'Whole' in 1611 English means healthy, sound in body. 'They that are whole' is 'those who are well', with no modern sense of entire or complete.

32I did not come to call those who are righteous, but to call sinners to turn from their sins."

32I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Note'Repentance' translates a Greek word for a change of mind that becomes a change of direction. The emphasis is on turning around rather than on feeling sorry.

33They said to him, "John's disciples often go without food and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. But your disciples keep eating and drinking."

33And they said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but thine eat and drink?

NoteFasting is going without food for a set time, usually from dawn until dark, as an act of mourning, petition or devotion. The law of Moses required it on only one day of the year, the Day of Atonement, but strict Pharisees fasted twice a week as a discipline, and John the Baptist's followers were known for an austere way of life. The question is therefore about religious practice, not about appetite.

34Jesus said to them, "Can you make the wedding guests go without food while the groom is still with them?

34And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?

Note'The children of the bridechamber' is a Hebrew style idiom: to be a 'son of' something means to belong to it. These are the bridegroom's friends and the wedding party. A Jewish wedding celebration ran about a week, and the guests were released from ordinary fasting obligations for its duration, so fasting at a wedding was a contradiction in terms.

35But the time will come when the groom will be taken away from them. In those days they will go without food."

35But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.

36He also told them this short story: "No one tears a piece of cloth from a new coat and sews it on an old one. If he does, he ruins the new coat, and the patch from the new one will not match the old.

36And he spake also a parable unto them; No man putteth a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeth not with the old.

NoteA parable is a comparison drawn from ordinary life to carry a point, not necessarily a story about anything that happened. 'Maketh a rent' means makes a tear. The picture is plain household economics: cutting a patch out of a good new garment wrecks the new garment, and the fresh cloth will not match the faded old one in any case. Matthew and Mark tell the same saying with the stress on unshrunk cloth shrinking and pulling the old apart; Luke tells it with the stress on the waste of the new.

37And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill out, and the skins will be ruined.

37And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish.

NoteThe 'bottles' of the King James are skins, not glass. A whole goat or sheep hide was cleaned, sewn up and used as a container for liquid. New wine is still fermenting and gives off gas as it works; a fresh skin has stretch left in it and gives with the pressure, while a skin already stretched and gone hard from earlier use splits instead.

38New wine has to be poured into new wineskins. That way both are kept safe.

38But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved.

39And no one who has been drinking old wine wants new wine right away, because he says, 'The old is better.'"

39No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.

NoteAged wine was reckoned better than new, and this was a commonplace saying rather than a novel observation. The manuscripts differ at the end: many read 'The old is better', some early ones read simply that the old is good, and a few omit the verse entirely.