¹On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret,²and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets.³Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.⁴And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."

⁵And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets."⁶And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking.⁷They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.⁸But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."⁹For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,

¹⁰and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."

¹¹And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.¹²While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, "Lord, if you will, you can make me clean."

¹³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be clean." And immediately the leprosy left him.

¹⁴And he charged him to tell no one, but "go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them."¹⁵But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.¹⁶But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.

¹⁷On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal.¹⁸And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus,¹⁹but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.²⁰And when he saw their faith, he said, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

²¹And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

²²When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts?²³Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?²⁴But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he said to the man who was paralyzed--"I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home."

²⁵And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God.²⁶And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, "We have seen extraordinary things today."

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

²⁸And leaving everything, he rose and followed him.²⁹And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.³⁰And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"³¹And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.³²I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

³³And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."

³⁴And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?³⁵The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."³⁶He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.³⁷And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.³⁸But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.³⁹And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, 'The old is good.'"