Matthew 8

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

1Jesus came down from the mountain. Large crowds followed him.

2And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

2A man with leprosy came to him and knelt down. Leprosy is a bad skin disease. The man said, "Lord, if you want to, you can make me clean."

3And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

3Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. Jesus said, "I want to. Be clean!" Right away the man's skin disease was gone.

4And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

4Then Jesus told him, "Do not tell anyone about this. Go and show yourself to the priest. Bring the gift that Moses said to bring. That will be proof for them."

5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

5Jesus went into the town of Capernaum. An army officer came and begged him for help.

6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

6The officer said, "Lord, my servant is lying at home. He cannot move his body, and he is in terrible pain."

NoteThe KJV says "sick of the palsy." Palsy is an old word for being unable to move part or all of your body.

7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

7Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."

8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

8The officer answered, "Lord, I am not good enough for you to come into my house. Just say the word. Then my servant will be well.

9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

9I am a man who obeys orders. I also have soldiers who obey me. I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes. I say to another, 'Come,' and he comes. I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

10Jesus heard this and was amazed. He said to the people following him, "I tell you the truth. I have not found trust this strong anywhere in Israel.

11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.

11I tell you, many people will come from the east and the west. They will sit down to eat with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They will be in the kingdom of heaven, where God is king.

12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

12But the people who belong to the kingdom will be thrown outside into the dark. Out there people cry and grind their teeth."

13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

13Then Jesus said to the officer, "Go home. It will happen just as you believed." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

14And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house, he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.

14Jesus went into Peter's house. He saw Peter's wife's mother lying in bed with a fever.

15And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto them.

15He touched her hand, and the fever went away. She got up and began to take care of them.

16When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:

16That evening people brought him many who had demons inside them. Demons are evil spirits. Jesus sent the spirits out with one word. He healed everyone who was sick.

17That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.

17This happened so the words of the prophet Isaiah would come true. A prophet is someone who told people what God said. Isaiah said, "He took our weakness and carried our sicknesses away."

18Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side.

18Jesus saw the big crowd around him. He told his followers to cross to the other side of the lake.

19And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

19A teacher of God's law came to him. He said, "Teacher, I will follow you anywhere you go."

20And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

20Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes to live in. Birds have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Note"Son of Man" is the name Jesus used for himself again and again in this book.

21And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

21Another one of his followers said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

22But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.

22But Jesus said to him, "Follow me. Let the dead bury their own dead."

23And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

23Jesus got into a boat, and his followers went with him.

24And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

24Suddenly a big storm came up on the lake. Waves washed over the boat. But Jesus was asleep.

25And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

25His followers came and woke him up. They said, "Lord, save us! We are going to drown!"

26And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

26He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? You trust me so little." Then he got up. He told the wind and the sea to be still. Everything became very calm.

27But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

27The men were amazed. They said, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!"

28And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

28They came to the other side, to the land of the Gergesenes. Two men with demons inside them met Jesus. They came out from the graves. They were so wild that no one could walk on that road.

29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

29They shouted, "What do you want with us, Jesus, Son of God? Did you come here to hurt us before the right time?"

30And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.

30Some way off, a big herd of pigs was eating.

31So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.

31So the demons begged Jesus, "If you send us out, let us go into the pigs."

32And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

32He said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep hill into the lake. They all drowned in the water.

33And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

33The men who looked after the pigs ran away. They went into the town and told everyone what had happened. They told about the two men with demons too.

34And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

34Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their part of the country.

NoteThe KJV says "coasts," but that does not mean a beach. In 1611 it meant the borders or the whole area around a town.