 CHAPTER ONE THROUGH FOUR of THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE, FROM THE NEW TESTIMENT IN MODERN SPEECH, TRANSLATED BY RICHARD FRANCIS WAYMATH CHAPTERS ONE THROUGH FOUR CHAPTER ONE Seeing that many have attempted to draw up a narrative of the facts which are received with full assurance among us on the authority of those who were from the beginning eyewitnesses and were devoted to the service of the Divine Message, it has seemed right to me also, after careful investigation of the facts from their commencement, to write for you, most noble Theophilus, a connected account, that you may fully know the truth of the things which you have been taught by word of mouth. There was in the time of Herod, a king of Judea, a priest of the name of Zechariah belonging to the class of Abijah. He had a wife who was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They were both of them upright before God, blamelessly obeying all the Lord's precepts and ordinances. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both of them were far advanced in life. Now while he was doing priestly duty before God in the prescribed course of his class, it fell to his lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the sanctuary of the Lord and burn the incense. And the whole multitude of the people were outside, praying at the hour of incense. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense, and Zechariah on seeing him was agitated and terrified. But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid Zechariah, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call his name John. Gladness and exultant joy shall be yours, and many will rejoice over his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. No wine or fermented drink shall he ever drink, but he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from the very hour of his birth. Many of the descendants of Israel will he turn to the Lord their God, and he will be his forerunner in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn father's hearts to the children, and cause the rebellious to walk in the wisdom of the upright to make a people perfectly ready for the Lord. By what proof, asked Zechariah, shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is far advanced in years. I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God, answered the angel, and I have been sent to talk with you and tell you this good news, and now you will be dumb and unable to speak until the day when this has taken place, because you did not believe my words, words which will be fulfilled at their appointed time. Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and were surprised that he stayed so long in the sanctuary. When, however, he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they knew that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary, but he kept making signs to them and continued dumb. When his days of service were at an end, he went to his home, and in course of time his wife Elizabeth conceived and kept herself secluded five months. Thus has the Lord dealt with me, she said, now that he has graciously taken away my reproach among men. Now, in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a maiden betrothed to a man of the name of Joseph, a descendant of David. The maiden's name was Mary. So Gabriel went into the house and said to her, Joy be to you, favored one, the Lord is with you. She was greatly agitated at his words and wondered what such a greeting meant. But the angel said, Do not be frightened, Mary, for you have found favor with God. You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. He will be great, and he will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his forefather David, and he will be king over the house of Jacob for the ages, and of his kingdom there will be no end. How can this be? Mary replied, Seeing that I have no husband. The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and for this reason your holy offspring will be called the Son of God. And see, your relative Elizabeth, she also has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who was called Baron, for no promise from God will be impossible of fulfillment. I am the Lord's maid servant, Mary replied. May it be with me in accordance with your words. And then the angel left her. Not long after this Mary rose up and went in haste into the hill country to a town in Judah. Here she came to the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth, and as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the babe leapt within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and uttered a loud cry of joy. Blessed among women are you, she said, and the offspring of your body is blessed. But why is this honour done me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the babe within me leapt for joy, and blessed is she who has believed, for the words spoken to her from the Lord shall be fulfilled. Then Mary said, My soul extols the Lord, and my spirit triumphs in God my Saviour. Because he has not turned from his maid servant in her lowly position, for from this time forward all generations will acute me happy. Because the mighty one has done great things for me, holy is his name, and his compassion is generation after generation upon those who fear him. He has manifested his supreme strength, he has scattered those who were hotty in the thoughts of their hearts. He has cast monarchs down from their thrones, and exalted men of low estate. The hungry he has satisfied with choice gifts, but the rich he has sent empty-handed away. His servant Israel he has helped remembering his compassion, in fulfilment of his promises to our forefathers, for Abraham and his posterity, for ever. So Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then returned home. Now when Elizabeth's full time was come she gave birth to a son, and her neighbours and relatives heard how the Lord had had great compassion on her, and they rejoiced with her, and on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and were going to call him Zechariah after his father. His mother, however, said, No, he is to be called John. There is not one of your family, they said, who has that name. They asked his father by signs what he wished him to be called, so he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, His name is John. And they all wondered. Instantly his mouth and his tongue were set free, and he began to speak, and bless God, and all who lived round about them were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea reports of all these things were spread abroad. All who heard the story treasured it in their memories. What then will this child be, they said, for the Lord's hand was indeed with him, and Zechariah his father was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in a rapture of praise. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, he said, because he has not forgotten his people, but has affected redemption for them, and has raised up a mighty deliverer for us in the house of David, his servant, as he has spoken from all time by the lips of his holy prophets, to deliver us from our foes, and from the power of all who hate us. He dealt pitifully with our forefathers, and remembered his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham, our forefather, to grant us to be rescued from the power of our foes, and so render worship to him free from fear, in piety and uprightness before him all our days. And you, moreover, O child, shall be called prophet of the Most High, for you shall go on in front before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give to his people a knowledge of salvation in the forgiveness of their sins, through the tender compassion of our God, through which the daybreak from on high will come to us, dawning on those who now dwell in the darkness and shadow of death, to direct our feet into the path of peace. And the child grew and became strong in character, and lived in the desert till the time came for him to appear publicly to Israel. Chapter 2 Just at this time an edict was issued by Caesar Augustus for the registration of the whole empire. It was the first registration made during the governorship of Quirinius in Syria, and all went to be registered, everyone to the town to which he belonged. So Joseph went up from Galilee to the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to David's town of Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to have himself registered together with Mary, who was betrothed to him and was with child. But while they were there, her full time came, and she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him round, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in the same part of the country, keeping watch over their sheep by night in the open fields, when suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round them, and they were filled with terror. But the angel said to them, Put away all fear, for I am bringing you good news of great joy, joy for all the people. For a Savior, who is the anointed Lord, is born to you today in the town of David, and this is the token for you. You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And immediately there was with the angel a multitude of the army of heaven, praising God and saying, Glory be to God in the highest heavens, and on earth peace among men who please him. Then, as soon as the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go over as far as Bethlehem, and see this that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. So they made haste and came and found Mary and Joseph, with the babe lying in the manger. And when they saw the child, they told what had been said to them about him. And all who listened were astonished at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, often dwelling on them in her mind, and the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, in accordance with the announcement made to them. When eight days had passed and the time for circumcising him had come, he was called Jesus. The name given him by the angel before his conception in the womb. And when the days for their purification appointed by the law of Moses had passed, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, every firstborn male shall be called holy to the Lord. And they also offered a sacrifice as commanded in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem of the name of Simeon, an upright and God-fearing man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. To him it had been revealed by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death until he had seen the Lord's anointed one. Led by the Spirit he came to the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do with regard to him according to the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, Now, O sovereign Lord, thou dost send thy servant away in peace in fulfillment of thy word, because mine eyes have seen thy salvation which thou hast made ready in the sight of all nations, a light to shine upon the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. And while the child's father and mother were wondering at the words of Simeon concerning him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary the mother, This child is appointed for the falling and uprising of many in Israel and for a token to be spoken against, and a sword will pierce through your own soul also, that the reasonings in many hearts may be revealed. There was also Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Fanuel, belonging to the tribe of Asher. She was of a very great age, having had after her maidenhood seven years of married life and then being a widow of eighty-four years. She was never absent from the temple but worshipped by day and by night with fasting and prayer. And coming up just at that moment she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were expecting the deliverance of Jerusalem. Then as soon as they had accomplished all that the law required, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth and the child grew and became strong and full of wisdom and the favor of God rested upon him. Now his parents used to go up year by year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover and when he was twelve years old they went up as was customary at the time of the feast and after staying the full number of days when they started back home the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not discover this but supposing him to be in the traveling company they proceeded a day's journey. Then they searched up and down for him among their relatives and acquaintances but being unable to find him they returned to Jerusalem making anxious inquiry for him. On the third day they found him in the temple sitting among the rabbis both listening to them and asking them questions while all who heard him were astonished at his intelligence and at the answers he gave when they saw him they were smitten with amazement and his mother said to him my child why have you behaved thus to us your father and I have been searching for you in anguish why is it that you've been searching for me he replied did you not know that it is my duty to be engaged upon my father's business but they did not understand the significance of these words then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was always obedient to them but his mother carefully treasured of all these incidents in her memory and as Jesus grew older he gained in both wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Chapter three now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea Herod Tetrarch of Galilee his brother Philip Tetrarch of Iteria and Trachonitus and Lysanius Tetrarch of Abilene during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas a message from God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert John went into all the district about the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of the penitent for the forgiveness of sins as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah the voice of one crying aloud in the desert prepare ye a road for the Lord make his highway straight every ravine shall be filled up and every mountain and hill leveled down the crooked places shall be turned into straight roads and the rugged ways into smooth and then shall all mankind see God's salvation accordingly John used to say to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him oh vipers brood who has warned you to flee from the coming wrath live lives which help prove your change of heart and do not begin to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our forefather for I tell you that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones and even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees so that every tree which fails to yield good fruit will quickly be hewn down and thrown into the fire the crowds repeatedly asked him what then are we to do let the man who has two coats he answered give one to the man who has none and let the man who has food share it with others there came also a party of tax gatherers to be baptized and they asked him rabbi what are we to do do not exact more than the legal amount he replied the soldiers also once and again inquired of him and we what are we to do his answer was neither intimidate anyone nor lay false charges and be content with your pay and while the people were in suspense and all were debating in their minds whether john might possibly be the anointed one he answered the question by saying to them all as for me I am baptizing you with water but one might hear than I is coming whose very sandal strap I am not worthy to unfasten he will baptize you in the holy spirit and with fire his winnowing shovel is in his hand to clear out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse but the chaff he will burn up in fire unquenchable with many exhortations besides these he declared the good news to the people but hered the tetrarch being repeatedly rebuked by him about herodias his brother's wife and about all the wicked deeds that he had done now added this to crown all the rest that he threw john into prison now when all the people had been baptized and jesus also had been baptized and was praying the sky opened and the holy spirit came down in bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven which said thou art my son dearly loved in thee is my delight and he jesus when he began his ministry was about 30 years old he was the son it was supposed of joseph son of heli son of matfet son of levi son of malchi son of janai son of joseph son of mattifias son of amos son of neham son of esli son of negai son of mehaf son of mattifias son of semian son of josek son of joda son of johanan son of risa son of zarabable son of shealtio son of narai son of melkai son of adai son of cosam son of elmadam son of air son of joshua son of ilaiyser son of jorim son of matfet son of levi son of simion son of juda son of joseph son of jonam son of ilayakim son of malia son of menna son of mafafa son of naven son of david son of jesse son of obed son of boaz son of salman son of nashon son of amenadab son of admin son of arni son of hesron son of peraz son of juda son of jakob son of isik son of abraham son of terra son of nahr son of serrug son of reyu son of peleg son of eber son of sheila son of ka'in son of Arpakshad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamek, son of Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalalel, son of Kenan, son of Enoch, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God. CHAPTER IV Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led about by the Spirit in the desert for forty days, tempted all the while by the devil. During those days he ate nothing, and at the close of them he suffered from hunger. Then the devil said to him, If you are God's son, tell this stone to become bread. It is written, replied Jesus, it is not on bread alone that a man shall live. The devil next led him up and caused him to see at a glance all the kingdoms of the grove, and the devil said to him, To you will I give all this authority and this splendor, for it has been handed over to me, and on whomsoever I will I bestow it. If therefore you do homage to me, it shall all be yours. Jesus answered him, It is written, To the Lord thy God thou shalt do homage, And to him alone shalt thou render worship. Then he brought him to Jerusalem and caused him to stand on the roof of the temple, and said to him, If you are God's son, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, He will give orders to his angels concerning thee to guard thee safely, and on their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any moment thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone. The reply of Jesus was, It is said, Thou shalt not put the Lord thy God to the proof. So the devil, having fully tried every kind of temptation on him, left him for a time. Then Jesus returned in the Spirit's power to Galilee, and his fame spread through all the adjacent districts, and he proceeded to teach in their synagogues winning praise from all. He came to Nazareth also, where he had been brought up, and, as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read, and there was handed to him the book of the prophet Isaiah, and, opening the book, he found the place where it was written. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor, he has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed, to proclaim the year of acceptance with the Lord, and, rolling up the book, he returned it to the attendant and sat down to speak, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he proceeded to say to them, Today is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing. And they all spoke well of him, wondering at the sweet words of kindness which fell from his lips, while they asked one another, Is not this Joseph's son? Doubtless, said he, you will quote to me the proverb, Physician, cure yourself. All that we hear that you have done at Capernaum, do hear also in your native place. I tell you in solemn truth, he added, that no prophet is welcomed among his own people. But I tell you in truth, that there was many a widow in Israel in the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three years and six months, and there came a severe famine over all the land, and yet, to not one of them was the Elijah sent, he was only sent to a widow at Zarephath, in the Sidonian country. And there was also many a leper in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and yet, not one of them was cleansed, but Naaman the Syrian was. Then all in the synagogue, while listening to these words, were filled with fury. They rose, hurried him outside the town, and brought him to the brow of the hill, on which their town was built, to throw him down the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them, and went his way. So he came down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he frequently taught the people on the Sabbath days, and they were greatly impressed by his teaching, because he spoke with the language of authority. But in the synagogue there was a man possessed by the spirit of a foul demon. In a loud voice he cried out, Ha, Jesus the Nazarene, what have you to do with us? I know who you are, God's holy one! But Jesus rebuked the demon. Silence, he exclaimed. Come out of him! Upon this the demon hurled the man into the midst of them, and came out of him without doing him any harm. All were astonished and awestruck, and they asked one another, What sort of language is this? For with authority and real power he gives orders to the foul spirits, and they come out. And the talk about him spread into every part of the neighboring country. Now when he rose and left the synagogue he went to Simon's house. Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from an acute attack of fever, and they consulted him about her. Then standing over her he rebuked the fever, and it left her, and she at once rose and waited on them. At sunset all who had friends suffering from any illness brought them to him, and he laid his hands on them all, one by one, and cured them. These also came out as many, loudly calling out, You are the Son of God! But he rebuked them and forbade them to speak, because they knew him to be the Christ. Next morning at daybreak he left the town and went away to a solitary place. But the people flocked out to find him, and, coming to the place where he was, they endeavored to detain him that he might not leave them. But he said to them, I have to tell the good news of the Kingdom of God to the other towns also, because for this purpose I was sent. And for some time he preached in the synagogues in Galilee. The end of chapters one through four of The Gospel According to Luke from the New Testament in modern speech translated by Richard Francis Weymouth. Chapter 5 through 8 of The Gospel According to Luke. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Penfold. The Gospel According to Luke from the New Testament in modern speech, translated by Richard Francis Weymouth. Chapters 5 through 8. Chapter 5 On one occasion the crowd was pressing on him and listening to God's message, while he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. He however saw two fishing boats drawn up on the beach, for the men had gone away from them and were washing the nets. And going on board one of them, which was Simon's, he asked him to push out a little from land. Then he sat down and taught the crowd of people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, Push out into deep water and let down your nets for a haul. Rabbi, replied Peter, All night long we have worked hard and caught nothing, But at your command I will let down the nets. This they did and enclosed a vast number of fish, and their nets began to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and they filled both the boats so that they almost sank. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at the knees of Jesus and exclaimed, Master, leave my boat, for I am a sinful man! For he was astonished and terrified, he and all his companions, at the haul of fish which they had taken, and so were Simon's partners, James and John, the sons of Zabdai. But Jesus replied to Simon, Fear not, from this time you shall be a catcher of men. Then after bringing their boats to land they left everything and followed him. On another occasion, when he was in one of the towns, there was a man there covered with leprosy, who, seeing Jesus, threw himself at his feet and implored him, saying, Sir, if only you are willing, you are able to make me clean. Holding out his hand and touching him, Jesus said, I am willing, be cleansed. And instantly the leprosy left him. He ordered him to tell no one. But go, he said, show yourself to the priest and make the offering for your purification which Moses appointed as evidence for them. But all the more the report about him spread abroad and great multitudes crowded to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But Jesus himself constantly withdrew into the desert and there prayed. One day he was teaching, and there were pharmacies and teachers of the law sitting there who had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem, and the power of the Lord was present for him to cure people. And a party of men came carrying a pulsed man on a bed, and they endeavored to bring him in and lay him before Jesus. But when they could find no way of doing so because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiling, bed and all, into the midst, in front of Jesus. He saw their faith and said to them, Friend, your sins are forgiven. Then the scribes and Pharisees began to cavill asking, Who is this uttering blasphemies? Who but God alone can forgive sins? While aware of their reasonings, Jesus answered their questions by asking in turn, What is this that you are debating in your hearts? Which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or to say rise and walk, but to prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins? Turning to the paralytic, he said, I bid you, rise, take up your bed, and go home. Finally he stood up in their presence, took up the mattress on which he had been lying, and went away to his home, giving glory to God. Amazement seized them all. Glory to God was the abiding feeling. Yet fear flashed through their minds, and they said, We have seen strange things today. After this he went out and noticed a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the toll-office, and he said to him, Follow me. He rose, left everything, and followed him. Levi also gave a great entertainment at his house in honor of Jesus, and there was a large party of tax-gatherers and others at table with them. This led the Pharisees and scribes of their party to expostulate with his disciples and ask, Why are you eating and drinking with these tax-gatherers and notorious sinners? But Jesus replied to them, It is not men in good health who require a physician, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners. Again they said to him, John's disciples fast often and pray, as do also those of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. Can you compel the bridal party too fast? So long as they have the bridegroom among them? But a time for this will come when the bridegroom has been taken away from them, then at that time they will fast. He also spoke in figurative language to them. No one, he said, tears a piece from a new garment to mend an old one, otherwise he would not only spoil the new, but the patch from the new would not match the old. Nor does anyone pour new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the new wine would burst the skins, the wine itself would be spilt, and the skins be destroyed, but new wine must be put into fresh wineskins, nor does anyone after drinking old wine wish for new, for he says, The old is better. CHAPTER VI Now on the second first Sabbath while he was passing through the wheat-fields, his disciples were plucking the ears and rubbing them with their hands to eat the grain, and some of the Pharisees asked, Why are you doing what the law forbids on the Sabbath? Have you never read so much as this? answered Jesus. What David did when he and his followers were hungry, how he entered the house of God and took and ate the presented loaves and gave some to his followers, loaves which none but the priests are allowed to eat. The Son of Man, he added, is Lord of the Sabbath also. On another Sabbath he had gone to the synagogue and was teaching there, and in the congregation was a man whose right arm was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were on the watch to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath that they might be able to bring an accusation against him. He knew their thoughts and said to the man with the withered arm, Rise and stand there in the middle, and he rose and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, I put it to you all whether we are allowed to do good on the Sabbath or to do evil, to save a life or to destroy it. And looking round upon them all he said to the man, Stretch out your arm. He did so, and the arm was restored. But they were filled with madness and began to discuss with one another what they should do to Jesus. About that time he went out on one occasion into the hill-country to pray, and he remained all night in prayer to God. When it was day he called his disciples and he selected from among them twelve, whom he also named apostles. These were Simon, to whom also he had given the name of Peter and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon, called the Zealot, James relative Judas and Judas Iscariot, who proved to be traitor. With these he came down till he reached a level place where there was a great crowd of his disciples and a multitude of people from every part of Judea, from Jerusalem and from the seaside district of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be cured of their diseases, and those who were tormented by foul spirits were cured. The whole crowd were eager to touch him because power went forth from him and cured everyone. Then fixing his eyes upon his disciples, Jesus said to them, Blessed are you, poor, because the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who hunger now because your hunger shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who now weep aloud because you shall laugh. Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you and spurn your very names as evil things for the son of man's sake. Be glad at such a time and dance for joy for your reward is great in heaven, for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the prophets. But alas for you rich men, because you already have your consolation, alas for you who now have plenty to eat because you will be hungry, alas for you who laugh now because you will mourn and weep aloud, alas for you when men shall all have spoken well of you, for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the false prophets. But to you who are listening to me I say, love your enemies, seek the welfare of those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who revile you, to him who gives you a blow on one side of the face, offer the other side also, and to him who is robbing you of your outer garment refuse not the under one also, to everyone who asks, give, and from him who takes away your property do not demand it back, and behave to your fellow men just as you would have them behave to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you? Why, even bad men love those who love them, and if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you, even bad men act thus? And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you, even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount? Love your enemies, be beneficent, and lend without hoping for any repayment, then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the most high, for he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be compassionate, just as your father is compassionate. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Pardon, and you shall be pardoned. Live, and gifts shall be bestowed on you. Full measure, pressed, shaken down, and running over, shall they pour into your laps. For with the same measure that you use, they shall measure to you in return. He also spoke to them in figurative language. Can a blind man lead a blind man? He asked. Would not both fall into the ditch? There is no disciple who is superior to his teacher, but everyone whose instruction is complete will be like his teacher. And why look at the splinter in your brother's eye, instead of giving careful attention to the beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, Brother, let me take that splinter out of your eye, when all the while you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye. Vane, pretender, take the beam out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother's eye. There is no good tree that yields unsound fruit, nor again any unsound tree that yields good fruit. Every tree is known by its own fruit. It is not from thorns that men gather figs, nor from the bramble that they can get a bunch of grapes. A good man from the good stored up in his heart brings out what is good, and an evil man from the evil stored up brings out what is evil. For from the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. And why do you all call me master, master, and yet not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and puts them in practice, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house who digs and goes deep and lays the foundation on the rock. And when a flood comes, the torrent bursts upon that house but is unable to shake it because it is securely built. But he who has heard and not practiced is like a man who has built a house upon the soft soil without a foundation against which the torrent bursts and immediately it collapses and terrible is the wreck and ruin of that house. Chapter 7 After he had finished teaching all these things in the hearing of the people he went into Capernaum. Here the servant of a certain captain, a man dear to his master, was ill and at the point of death. And the captain, hearing about Jesus, sent to him some of the Jewish elders begging him to come and restore his servant to health, and they, when they came to Jesus, earnestly entreated him, pleading, He deserves to have this favor granted him, for he loves our nation and at his own expense he built our synagogue for us. Then Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house the captain sent friends to him with the message, Sir, do not trouble to come. I am not worthy of having you come under my roof, and therefore I did not deem myself worthy to come to you. Only speak the word, and let my young man be cured. For I too am a man obedient to authority, and have soldiers under me, and I say to one, go, and he goes, to another, come, and he comes, and to my slave do this or that, and he doesn't. Jesus listened to the captain's message and was astonished at him, and he turned and said to the crowd that followed him, I tell you that not even in Israel have I found faith like that. And the friends who had been sent, on returning to the house, found the servant in perfect health. Shortly afterwards he went to a town called Nain, attended by his disciples and a great crowd of people, and just as he reached the gate of the town, they happened to be bringing out for burial a dead man who was his mother's only son, and she was a widow, and a great number of the townspeople were with her. The Lord saw her, was moved with pity for her, and said to her, do not weep. Then he went close and touched the beer, and the bearers halted. Young man, he said, I command you, wake! The dead man sat up and began to speak, and he restored him to his mother. All were awestruck, and they gave glory to God, some saying, a prophet, a great prophet has risen up among us! Others said, God has not forgotten his people! And the report of what Jesus had done spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding districts. John's disciples brought him an account of all these things. So John called two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord. Are you the coming one? he asked. Or is there another that we are to expect? The men came to Jesus and said, John the Baptist has sent us to you with this question. Are you the coming one? Or is there another that we are to expect? He immediately cured many of diseases, severe pain and evil spirits, and to many who were blind he gave the gift of sight. Then he answered the messengers. Go and report to John what you have seen and heard. Blind men receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are purified, deaf persons hear, the dead are raised to life, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is everyone who does not stumble and fall because of my claims. When John's messengers were gone he proceeded to say to the multitude concerning John, What did you go out into the desert to gaze at? A reed waving in the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man wearing luxurious clothes? People who are gorgeously dressed and live in luxury are found in palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? I, I tell you, and far more than a prophet. John is the man about whom it is written, See, I am sending my messenger before thy face and he shall make ready thy way before thee. I tell you that among all of women born there is not one greater than John, yet one who has a lower rank in the kingdom of God is greater than he. And all the people, including the tax-gatherers, when they listened to him upheld the righteousness of God by being baptized with John's baptism. But the Pharisees and expounders of the law have frustrated God's purpose as to their own lives by refusing to be baptized. To what then shall I compare the men of the present generation? And what do they resemble? They are like children sitting in the public square and calling out to one another. We have played the flute to you, and you have not danced. We have sung dirges, and you have not shown sorrow. For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, He has a demon. The son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say, Look, there is a man who was over fond of eating and drinking. He is a friend of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners. But wisdom is justified by all who are truly wise. Now, one of the Pharisees repeatedly invited him to a meal at his house. So he entered the house and reclined at the table. And there was a woman in the town who was a notorious sinner. Having learned that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee's house, she brought a flask of perfume and, standing behind close to his feet, weeping, began to wet his feet with her tears. And with her hair, she wiped the tears away again while she lovingly kissed his feet and poured the perfume over them. Noticing this, the Pharisee, his host, said to himself, This man, if he were really a prophet, would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him and would know that she is an immoral woman. In answer to his thoughts, Jesus said to him, Simon, I have a word to say to you. Rabbi, say on, he replied. There were once two men in debt to one moneylender, said Jesus. One owed him 500 shillings and the other 50. But neither of them could pay anything. So he freely forgave them both. Tell me then, which of them will love him most? I suppose, replied Simon, the one to whom he forgave most. You have judged rightly, Jesus rejoined. Then, turning towards the woman, he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has made my feet wet with her tears and then wiped the tears away with her hair. No kiss did you give me, but she from the moment I came in has not left off tenderly kissing my feet. No oil did you pour even on my head, but she has poured perfume upon my feet. This is the reason why I tell you that her sins, her many sins are forgiven because she has loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiven. Then the other guests began to say to themselves, Who can this man be who even forgives sins? But he said to the woman, your faith has cured you. Go and be at peace. Chapter eight. Shortly after this, he visited town after town and village after village, proclaiming his message and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him and certain women whom he had delivered from evil spirits and various diseases, Mary of Magdala, out of whom seven demons had come, and Joanna the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many other women, all of whom contributed to the support of Jesus and his apostles. And when a great crowd was assembling and was receiving additions from one town after another, he spoke a parable to them. The sower, he said, goes out to sow his seed. And as he sows, some of the seed falls by the wayside and is trodden upon or the birds of the air come and peck it up. Another part drops upon the rock, and after growing up, it withers away for want of moisture. Another part falls among the thorns and the thorns grow up with it and stifle it. But some of the seed falls into good ground and grows up and yields a return of a hundred for one. While thus speaking, he cried aloud and said, "'Listen, everyone who has ears to listen with.'" The disciples proceeded to ask him what this parable meant. "'To you,' he replied, "'it is granted to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, "'but all others are taught by parables "'in order that they may see and yet not see "'and may hear and yet not understand.'" The meaning of the parable is as follows. The seed is God's message. Those by the wayside are those who have heard and then the devil comes and carries away the message from their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the people who on hearing the message receive it joyfully, but they have no root, for a time they believe, but when trial comes, they fall away. That which fell among the thorns means those who have heard, but as they go on their way, the message is stifled by the anxieties, wealth and gayities of time and they yield nothing in perfection. But as for that in the good ground, it means those who, having listened to the message with open minds and in a right spirit, hold it fast and patiently yield a return. When anyone lights a lamp, he does not cover it with a vessel or hide it under a couch. He puts it on a lamp stand that people who enter the room may see the light. There is nothing hidden which shall not be openly seen nor anything secret which shall not be known and come into the light of day. Be careful, therefore, how you hear, for whoever has anything to him more shall be given and whoever has nothing, even that which he thinks he has shall be taken away from him. Then came to him his mother and his brothers, but could not get near him for the crowd, but he was told, Your mother and brothers are standing on the edge of the crowd and want to see you. My mother and my brothers, he replied, Are these who hear God's message and obey it? One day he went on board a boat, both he and his disciples, and he said to them, Let us cross over to the other side of the lake. So they set sail. During the passage, he fell asleep and there came down a squall of wind on the lake so that the boat began to fill and they were in deadly peril. So they came and woke him crying, Rabbi, Rabbi, we are drowning! Then he roused himself and rebuked the wind and the surging of the water and they ceased and there was a calm. Where is your faith? He asked them, but they were filled with terror and amazement and said to one another, Who then is this? For he gives orders both to wind and waves and they obey him. Then they put into shore in the country of the garrisons which lies opposite to Galilee. Here on landing he was met by one of the townsmen who was possessed by demons. For a long time he had not put on any garment, nor did he live in a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said in a loud voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of God most high? Do not torture me, I beseech you! For already he had been commanding the foul spirit to come out of the man for many a time it had seized and held him and they had repeatedly put him in chains and fetters and kept guard over him. But he used to break the chains to pieces and impelled by the demon to escape into the desert. What is your name? Jesus asked him. Legion! He replied, because a great number of demons had entered into him and they besought him not to command them to be gone into the bottomless pit. Now there was a great herd of swine there feeding on the hillside and the demons begged him to give them leave to go into them and he gave them leave. The demons came out of the man and left him and entered into the swine and the herd rushed violently over the cliff into the lake and were drowned. The swine herds seeing what had happened fled and reported it both in town and country whereupon the people came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and they found the man from whom the demons had gone out sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind and they were terrified and those who had seen it told them how the demoniac was cured. Then the whole population of the garrisons and of the adjacent districts begged him to depart from them for their terror was great. So he went on board and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out earnestly asked permission to go with him but he sent him away. Return home, he said, and tell there all that God has done for you. So he went and published through the whole town all that Jesus had done for him. Now when Jesus was returning the people gave him a warm welcome for they had all been looking out for him. Just then there came a man named Jayer a warden of the synagogue who threw himself at the feet of Jesus and entreated him to come to his house for he had an only daughter about twelve years old and she was dying and as he went the dense throng crowded on him and a woman who for twelve years had been afflicted with hemorrhage and had spent on doctors all she had but none of them had been able to cure her came close behind him and touched the tassel of his robe and instantly her flow of blood stopped. Who is it touched me? Jesus asked. And when all denied having done so Peter and the rest said Harabbi, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing on you. Someone has touched me. Jesus replied. For I feel that power has gone out from me. Then the woman perceiving that she had not escaped notice came trembling and throwing herself down at his feet she stated before all the people the reason why she had touched him and how she was instantly cured. Daughter said he. Your faith has cured you. Go and be at peace. While he was still speaking someone came to the warden of the synagogue from his house and said your daughter is dead. Trouble Harabbi no further. Jesus heard the words and said to him have no fear. Only believe and she shall be restored to life. So he came to the house but allowed no one to go in with him but Peter and John and James and the girl's father and mother. The people were all weeping aloud and beating their breasts for her but he said leave off wailing for she is not dead but asleep and they jeered at him knowing that she was dead. He however took her by the hand and called aloud. Child awake. And her spirit returned and instantly she stood up and he directed them to give her some food. Her parents were astounded but he forbade them to mention the matter to anyone. The end of chapters five through eight of the Gospel according to Luke from the New Testament in modern speech translated by Richard Francis Weymouth. Recording by Mark Penfold. Chapters nine through 12 of the Gospel according to Luke. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Mark Penfold. The Gospel according to Luke from the New Testament in modern speech translated by Richard Francis Weymouth. Chapters nine through 12. Chapter nine. Then calling the twelve together he conferred on them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases and sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to cure the sick and he commanded them, take nothing for your journey neither stick nor bag nor bread nor money and do not have an extra undergarment. Whatever house you enter make that your home and from it start afresh. Wherever they refuse to receive you as you leave that town shake off the very dust from your feet as a protest against them. So they departed and visited village after village spreading the good news and performing cures everywhere. Now Herod the Tetrarch heard of all that was going on and he was bewildered because of its being said by some that John had come back to life by others that Elijah had appeared and by others that some one of the ancient prophets had come back to life and Herod said, John I have beheaded but who is this of whom I hear such reports and he sought for an opportunity of seeing Jesus the apostles on their return related to Jesus all they had done and then he took them and withdrew to a quiet retreat to a town called Bethsaida but the immense crowd aware of this followed him and receiving them kindly he proceeded to speak to them of the kingdom of God and those who needed to be restored to health he cured. Now when the day began to decline the 12 came to him and said send the people away that they may go to the villages and farms round about and find lodging and a supply of food because here we are in an uninhabited district you yourselves he said must give them food we have nothing they replied but five loaves and a couple of fish unless indeed we were to go and buy provisions for all this host of people for they were about 5,000 adult men but he said to his disciples make them sit down in parties of about 50 each they did so making them all without exception sit down then he took the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven he blessed them and broke them into portions which he gave to the disciples to distribute to the people so they ate and were fully satisfied all of them and what they had remaining over was gathered up twelve baskets of fragments one day when he was praying by himself the disciples were present and he asked them who do the people say that I am John the Baptist they replied but others say Elijah and others that someone of the ancient prophets has come back to life but you he asked who do you say that I am God's anointed one replied Peter and Jesus strictly forbade them to tell this to anyone and he said the son of man must suffer much cruelty be rejected by the elders and high priests and scribes and be put to death and on the third day be raised to life again and he said to all if anyone is desirous of following me let him ignore self and take up his cross day by day and so be my follower for whoever desires to save his life shall lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it why what benefit is it to a man who have gained the whole world but who have lost or forfeited his own self for whoever shall have been ashamed of me and my teachings of him the son of man will be ashamed when he comes in his own and the father's glory and in that of the holy angels I tell you truly that there are some of those who stand here who will certainly not taste death till they have seen the kingdom of God it was about eight days after this that Jesus taking with him Peter John and James went up the mountain to pray and while he was praying the appearance of his face underwent a change and his clothing became white and radiant and suddenly there were two men conversing with him who were Moses and Elijah they came in glory and kept speaking about his death which he was so soon to undergo in Jerusalem now Peter and the others were weighed down with sleep but keeping themselves awake all through they saw his glory and the two men standing with him and when they were preparing to depart from him Peter said to Jesus Rabbi we are thankful to you that we are here let us put up three tents one for you one for Moses and one for Elijah he did not know what he was saying but while he was thus speaking there came a cloud which spread over them and they were awestruck when they had entered into the cloud then there came a voice from within the cloud this is my son my chosen one listen to him after this voice had spoken Jesus was found alone they kept it to themselves and said not a word to anyone at that time about what they had seen on the following day when they were come down from the mountain a great crowd came to meet him and a man from the crowd called out Rabbi I beg you to pity my son for he is my only child at times the spirit seizes him and he suddenly cries out it convulses him and makes him foam at the mouth and does not leave him till it has well night covered him with bruises I entreat it your disciples to expel the spirit but they could not oh unbelieving and perverse generation replied Jesus how long shall I be with you and bear with you bring your son here to me now while the youth was coming the spirit dashed him to the ground and cruelly convulsed him but Jesus rebuked the foul spirit and cured the youth and gave him back to his father and all were awestruck at the mighty power of God and while everyone was expressing wonder at all that he was doing he said to his disciples as for you store these my sayings in your memory for before long the son of man will be betrayed into the hands of men but they did not understand his meaning it was failed from them that they might not perceive it and they were afraid to ask him about it now there arose a dispute among them which of them was to be the greatest and Jesus knowing the reasoning that was in their hearts took a young child and made him stand by his side and said to him whoever for my sake receives this little child receives me and whoever receives me receives him who sent me for the lowliest among you all he is the greatest rabbi replied john we have seen a man making use of your name to expel demons and we forbade him because he does not come with us do not forbid him said jesus for he who is not against you is on your side now when the time drew near for him to be received up again into heaven he proceeded with fixed purpose towards Jerusalem and sent messengers before him they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him but the people there would not receive him because he was evidently going to Jerusalem when the disciples james and john saw this they said master do you wish us to order fire to come down from heaven and consume them but he turned and rebuked them and they went to another village and as they proceeded on their way a man came to him and said i will follow you wherever you go the foxes have holes said jesus and the birds of the air have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head follow me he said to another master the man replied allow me first to go and bury my father leave the dead jesus rejoined to bury their own dead but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the kingdom of god master said yet another i will follow you but allow me first to go and say goodbye to my friends at home jesus answered him no one who has put his hand to the plow and then looks behind him is fit for the kingdom of god chapter 10 after this the lord appointed seventy others and sent them before him by twos to go to every town or place which he himself intended to visit and he addressed them thus the harvest is abundant but the reapers are few therefore entreat the owner of the harvest to send out more reapers into his fields and now go remember that i am sending you out his lands into the midst of wolves carry no purse bag nor change of shoes and salute no one on your way whatever house you enter first say peace be to this house and if there is a lever of peace there your peace shall rest upon it otherwise come back upon you and in that same house stay eating and drinking at their table for the laborer deserves his wages do not move from one house to another and whatever town you come to and they receive you eat what they put before you cure the sick in that town and tell them the kingdom of god is now at your door but whatever town you come to and they will not receive you go out into the broader streets and say the very dust of your town that hangs about us we wipe off as a protest only be sure of this that the kingdom of god is close at hand i tell you that it will be more indurable for sodom on the great day than for that town alas for the carazine alas for the bathsida for had the miracles been performed in tire and siden which have been performed in you long air now they would have repented sitting in sackcloth and ashes however for tire and siden it will be more indurable at the judgment than for you and thou can pronounce shall thou be lifted high as heaven thou shalt be driven down as low as hades he who listens to you listens to me and he who disregards you disregards me and he who disregards me disregards him who sent me when the seventy returned they exclaimed joyfully master even the demons submit to us when we utter your name i saw satan fall like a lightning flash out of heaven he replied i have given you power to tread serpents and scorpions under foot and to trample on all the power of the enemy and in no case shall anything do you harm nevertheless rejoice not at this that the spirits submit to you but rejoice that your names are registered in heaven on that same occasion jesus was filled by the holy spirit with rapturous joy i give the fervent thanks he exclaimed oh father lord of heaven and earth that thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of understanding and has to reveal them to babes yes father for such has been thy gracious well all things are delivered to me by my father and no one knows who the son is but the father nor who the father is but the son and he to whom the son may choose to reveal him and he turned towards his disciples and said to them apart blessed are the eyes which see what you see for i tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see the things you see and have not seen them and to hear the things you hear and have not heard them then an expounder of the law stood up to test him with a question rabbi he asked what shall i do to inherit the life of the ages go to the law said jesus what is written there how does it read thou shalt love the lord thy god he replied with thy whole heart thy whole soul thy whole strength and thy whole mind and thy fellow man as much as thyself a right answer said jesus do that and you shall live but he desiring to justify himself said but what is meant by my fellow man jesus replied a man was once on his way down from jerusalem to jericho when he fell among robbers who after both stripping and beating him went away leaving him half dead now a priest happened to be going down that way and on seeing him passed by on the other side in like manner a levite also came to the place and seeing him passed by on the other side but a certain samaritan being on a journey came where he lay and seeing him was moved with pity he went to him and dressed his wounds with oil and wine and bound then placing him on his own mule he brought him to an inn where he bestowed every care on him the next day he took out two shillings and gave them to the innkeeper take care of him he said and whatever further expense you are put to i will repay it to you at my next visit which of those three seems to you to have acted like a fellow man to him who fell among the robbers the one who showed him pity he replied go said jesus and act in the same way as they pursued their journey he came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him to her house she had a sister called Mary who seated herself at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching Martha meanwhile was busy and distracted in waiting at table and she came and said faster do you not care that my sister is leaving me to do all the waiting tell her to assist me Martha Martha replied jesus you are anxious and worried about a multitude of things and yet only one thing is really necessary Mary has chosen the good portion and she shall not be deprived of it chapter 11 at one place where he was praying when he rose from his knees one of his disciples said to him master teach us to pray just as john taught his disciples so he said to them when you pray say father may thy name be kept holy let thy kingdom come give us day after day our bread for the day and forgive us our sins for we ourselves also forgive everyone who fails in his duty to us and bring us not into temptation and he said to them which of you shall have a friend and shall go to him in the middle of the night and say friend lend me three loaves of bread for a friend of mine has just come to my house from a distance and i have nothing for him to eat and he from indoors shall answer do not pester me the door is now barred and i am here in bed with my children i cannot get up and give you bread i tell you that even if he will not rise and give him the loaves because he is his friend at any rate because of his persistency he will rouse himself and give him as many as he requires so i say to you ask and what you ask for shall be given to you seek and you shall find knock and the door shall be opened to you for everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks the door shall be opened and what father is there among you who if his son asks for a slice of bread will offer him a stone or if he asks for a fish will instead of a fish offer him a snake or if he asks for an egg will offer him a scorpion if you then with all your human frailty know how to give your children gifts that are good for them how much more certainly will your father who is in heaven give the holy spirit to those who ask him on one's occasion he was expelling a dumb demon and when the demon was gone out the dumb man could speak and the people were astonished but some among them said it is by the power of bielzebul the prince of the demons that he expels the demons others to put him to the test asked him for a sign in the sky and knowing their thoughts he said to them every kingdom in which civil war rages goes to ruin family attacks family and is overthrown and if satan really has engaged in fierce conflict with himself how shall his kingdom stand because you say that I expel demons by the power of balsamal and if it is by the power of balsamal that I expel the demons by whom do your disciples expel them they therefore shall be your judges but if it is by the power of god that I drive out the demons it is evident that the kingdom of god has come upon you whenever a strong man fully armed and equipped is guarding his own castle he enjoys peaceful possession of his property but as soon as another stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him he takes away that complete armor of his in which he trusted and distributes the plunder he has collected whoever is not with me is against me and whoever is not gathering with me is scattering abroad when a foul spirit has left a man it roams about in the desert seeking a resting place but unable to find any it says I will return to the house I have left and when it comes it finds the house swept clean and in good order then it goes and brings with seven other spirits more malignant than itself and they enter and dwell there and in the end that man's condition becomes worse than it was at first as he thus spoke a woman in the crowd called out in a loud voice bless it is the mother who carried you and the breasts that you have sucked nay rather he replied they are blessed who hear god's message and carefully keep it now when the crowds came thronging upon him he proceeded to say the present generation is a wicked generation it requires some sign but no sign shall be given to it except that of Jonah for just as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh so the son of man will be a token to the present generation the queen of the south will awaken the judgment together with the men of the present generation and will condemn them because she came from the extremity of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon but mark one greater than Solomon is here there will stand up men of Nineveh at the judgment together with the present generation and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and mark one greater than Jonah is here when anyone lights a lamp he never puts it in the cellar or under the bushel but on the lamp stand that people who come in may see the light the lamp of the body is the eye when your eyesight is good your whole body also is lighted up but when it is defective your body is darkened consider therefore whether the light that is in you is anything but mere darkness if however your whole body is penetrated with light and has no part dark it will be so lighted all of it as when the lamp with its bright shining gives you light when he had thus spoken a Pharisee invited him to breakfast at his house so he entered and took his place at table now the Pharisee saw to his surprise that he did not wash his hands before breakfasting the master however said to him here we see how you Pharisees clean the outside of the cupper plate while your secret hearts are full of greed and selfishness foolish men did not he who made the outside make the inside also but as to what is within give alms and instantly all is clean in you but alas for you Pharisees for you pay tithes on your mint and rue and every kind of garden vegetable and are indifferent to justice and the love of god these are the things you ought to have attended to while not neglecting the others alas for you Pharisees for you love the best seats in the synagogues and you like to be bowed to in places of public resort alas for you for you are like the tombs which lie hidden and the people who walk over them are not aware of their existence here upon one of the expounders of the law exclaimed rabbi in saying such things you reproach us also alas to for you expounders of the law reply jesus for you load men with cumbrous burdens which you yourselves will not touch with one of your fingers alas for you for you repair the tombs of the prophets whom your forefathers killed it follows that you bear testimony to the actions of your forefathers and that you fully approve thereof they slew you build for this reason also the wisdom of god has said i will send prophets and apostles to them of whom they will kill some and persecute others so that the blood of all the prophets that is being shed from the creation of the world onwards may be required from the present generation yes i tell you that from the blood of able down to the blood of zekariah who perished between the altar and the house it shall all be required from the present generation alas for you expounders of the law for you have taken away the key of knowledge you yourselves have not entered and those who wanted to enter you have hindered after he had left the house the scribes and Pharisees commenced a vehement attempt to entangle him and make him give offhand answers on numerous points lying in wait to catch some unguarded expression from his lips chapter 12 meanwhile the people had come streaming towards him by tens of thousands so that they were trampling one another underfoot and now he proceeded to say to his disciples first beware of the yeast of the Pharisees that is to say beware of hypocrisy there is nothing that is covered up which will not be uncovered nor hidden which will not become known whatever therefore you have said in the dark will be heard in the light and what you have whispered with enclosed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops but to you who are my friends i say be not afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do nothing further i will warn you whom to fear fear him who after killing has power to throw into Gehenna yes i say to you fear him are not five sparrows sold for a penny and yet not one of them is a thing forgotten in god's sight but the very hairs on your heads are all counted away with fear you are more precious than a multitude of sparrows and i tell you that every man who shall have acknowledged me before men the son of man will also acknowledge before the angels of god but he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of god moreover everyone who shall speak against the son of man may obtain forgiveness but he who blasphemes the holy spirit will never obtain forgiveness and when they are bringing you before synagogues and magistrates and governors do not anxiously ponder the manner or matter of your defense nor what you are to say for the holy spirit shall teach you at that very moment what you must say just then a man in the crowd appealed to him rabbi he said tell my brother to give me a share of the inheritance man he replied who has constituted me a judge or arbitrator over you and to the people he said take care be on your guard against all covetousness for no one's life consists in the super abundance of his possessions and he spoke a parable to them a certain rich man's lands he said yielded abundant crops and he debated within himself saying what am i to do for i have no place in which to store my crops and he said to himself this is what i will do i will pull down my barns and build larger ones and in them i will store up all my harvest and my wealth and i will say to my life life you have ample possessions laid up for many years to come take your ease eat drink enjoy yourself but god said to him foolish man this night your life is demanded from you and these preparations for whom shall they be so is it with him who amasses treasure for himself but has no riches in god then turning to his disciples he said for this reason i say to you dismiss all anxious care for your lives inquiring what you are to eat and for your bodies what you are to put on for life is a greater gift than food and the body is a greater gift than clothing observe the ravens they neither sow nor reap and have neither store chamber nor barn and yet god feeds them how far more precious are you than the birds and which of you is able by anxious thought to add a moment to his life if then you are unable to do even a very little thing why be over anxious about other matters observe the lilies how they grow they neither labor nor spin and yet i tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was as beautifully dressed as one of these but if god so clothes the vegetation in the fields that blooms today and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven how much more certainly will he clothe you human of feeble faith therefore do not be asking what you are to eat nor what you are to drink and do not waver between hope and fear for though the nations of the world pursue these things as for you your father knows that you need them but make his kingdom the object of your pursuit and these things shall be given you in addition dismiss your fears little flock your father finds a pleasure in giving you the kingdom sell your possessions and give alms provide yourselves with purses that will never wear out a treasure inexhaustible in heaven where no thief can come nor moth consume for where your wealth is stored there also will your heart be have your girdles on and let your lamps be a light and be yourselves like men waiting for their master on the lookout till he shall return from the wedding feast that when he comes and knocks they may open the door instantly blessed are those servants whom their master when he comes shall find on the watch i tell you in solemn truth that he will tie an apron round him and will bid them recline at table while he comes and waits on them and whether it be in the second watch or in the third that he comes and finds them so blessed are they of this be sure that if the master of the house had known what time the robber was coming he would have kept awake and not have allowed his house to be broken into be you also ready for at an hour when you are not expecting him the son of man will come master said peter are you addressing this parable to us or to all alike who then replied the lord is the faithful and intelligent steward whom his master will put in charge of his household to serve out their rations at the proper times blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing i tell you truly that he will put him in authority over all his possessions but if that servant should say in his heart my master is a long time in coming and should begin to beat the men's servants and the maids and to eat and drink drinking even to excess that servants master will come on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour that he knows not of and will punish him severely and make him share the lot of the unfaithful and that servant who has been told his master's will and yet made no preparation and did not obey his will will receive many lashes but he who had not been told it and yet did what deserved the scourge will receive but few lashes to whom so ever much has been given from him much will be required and to whom much has been entrusted of him a larger amount will be demanded i came to throw fire upon the earth and what is my desire oh that it were even now kindled but i have a baptism to undergo and how am i pent up till it is accomplished do you suppose that i came to bring peace on earth no i tell you that i came to bring dissension for from this time there will be in one house five persons split into parties three will form a party against two and two will form a party against three father against son and son against father mother attacking daughter and daughter her mother mother in law her daughter in law and daughter in law her mother in law then he said to the people also when you see a cloud rising in the west you immediately say there is to be a shower and it comes to pass and when you see a south wind blowing you say it will be burning hot and it comes to pass vain pretenders you know how to read the aspect of earth and sky how is it you cannot read this present time why two do you not of yourselves arrive at just conclusions for when with your opponent you are going before the magistrate on the way take pains to get out of his power for fear that if he should drag you before the judge the judge may hand you over to the officer of the court and the officer lodge you in prison never i tell you will you get free till you have paid the last farthing the end of chapters nine through twelve of the gospel according to luke from the new testament in modern speech translated by richard francis weymouth recording by mark pennfold chapters thirteen through sixteen of the gospel according to luke this is a livervox recording all livervox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit livervox dot o rg recording by mark pennfold the gospel according to luke from the new testament in modern speech translated by richard francis weymouth chapters thirteen through sixteen chapter thirteen just at that time people came to tell him about the galleleans whose blood pilot had mingled with their sacrifices do you suppose he asked in reply that those galleleans were worse sinners than the mass of the galleleans because this happened to them i tell you certainly not on the contrary if you are not penitent you will all perish as they did or those eighteen on whom the tower at siloam fell do you suppose they had failed in their duty more than all the rest of the people who live in jerusalem i tell you certainly not on the contrary if you do not repent you will all perish just as they did and he gave them the following parable a man he said who had a fig tree growing in his garden came to look for fruit on it and could find none so he said to the gardener see this is the third year i have come to look for fruit on this fig tree and cannot find any cut it down why should so much ground be actually wasted but the gardener pleaded leave it sir this year also till i have dug round it and manured it if after that it bears fruit well and good if it does not then you shall cut it down once he was teaching on the Sabbath in one of the synagogues where a woman was present who for eighteen years had been a confirmed invalid she was bent double and was unable to lift herself to her full height but jesus saw her and calling to her he said to her woman you are free from your weakness and he put his hands on her and she immediately stood upright and began to give glory to god then the warden of the synagogue indignant that jesus had cured her on a Sabbath said to the crowd there are six days in the week on which people ought to work on those days therefore come and get yourselves cured and not on the Sabbath day but the Lord's reply to him was hypocrites does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his bullock or his ass from the stall and lead him to water and this woman daughter of Abraham as she is whom satan had bound for no less than eighteen years was she not to be loosed from this chain because it is the Sabbath day when he had said this all his opponents were ashamed while the whole multitude was delighted at the many glorious things continually done by him this prompted him to say what is the kingdom of godlike and to what shall i compare it it is like a mustard seed which a man drops into the soil in his garden and it grows and becomes a tree in whose branches the birds roost and again he said to what shall i compare the kingdom of god it is like yeast which a woman takes and buries in a bushel of flour to work there till the hole is eleven he was passing through town after town and village after village steadily proceeding towards Jerusalem when someone asked him sir are there but few who are to be saved strain every nerve to force your way in through the narrow gate he answered for multitudes i tell you will endeavor to find a way in and will not succeed as soon as the master of the house shall have risen and shut the door and you have begun to stand outside and knock at the door and say sir open the door for us i do not know you he answers you are no friends of mine then you will plead we have eaten and drunk in your company and you have taught in our streets but he will reply i tell you that you are no friends of mine be gone from me all of you wrong doers that you are there will be the weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see abraham and isek and jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of god and yourselves being driven far away they will come from east and west from north and south and will sit down at the banquet in the kingdom of god and i tell you that some now last will then be first and some now first will then be last just at that time there came some Pharisees who warned him saying leave this place and continue your journey herrid means to kill you go he replied and take this message to that fox see today and tomorrow i am driving out demons and affecting cures and on the third day i finish my course yet i must continue my journey today and tomorrow and the day following for it is not conceivable that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem oh Jerusalem Jerusalem thou who murderous the prophets and stonest those who have been sent to thee how often have i desired to gather thy children just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you would not come see your house is left to you but i tell you that you will never see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord chapter 14 one day it was a Sabbath he was taking a meal at the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisee party while they were closely watching him in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy this led Jesus to ask the lawyers and Pharisees is it allowable to cure people on the Sabbath they gave him no answer so he took hold of the man cured him and sent him away then he turned to them and said which of you shall have a child or an ox fall into a well on the Sabbath day and will not immediately lift him out to this they could make no reply then when he noticed that the invited guests chose the best seats he used this as an illustration and said to them when anyone invites you to a wedding banquet do not take the best seat lest perhaps some more honored guest than you may have been asked and the man who invited you both will come and will say to you make room for this guest and then you ashamed will move to the lowest place on the contrary when you are invited go and take the lowest place that when your host comes round he may say to you my friend come up higher this will be doing you honor in the presence of all the other guests for whoever uplifts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be uplifted also to his host who had invited him he said when you give a breakfast or a dinner do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors lest perhaps they should invite you in return and a requital be made you but when you entertain invite the poor the crippled the lame and the blind and you will be blessed because they have no means of requiting you but there will be requital for you at the resurrection of the righteous after listening to this teaching one of his fellow guests said to him blessed is he who shall feast in God's kingdom a man once gave a great dinner replied Jesus to which he invited a large number of guests at dinner time he sent his servant to announce to those who had been invited come for things are now ready but they all without exception began to excuse themselves the first told him i have purchased a piece of land and must of necessity go and look at it pray hold me excused a second pleaded i have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them pray hold me excused another said i am just married it is impossible for me to come so the servant came and brought these answers to his master and they stirred his anger go out quickly he said into the streets of the city the wide ones and the narrow you will see poor men and crippled blind lame fetch them all in here soon the servant reported the result saying sir what you ordered is done and there is room still go out replied the master to the high roads and hedgerows and compel the people to come in so that my house may be filled for i tell you that not one of those who were invited shall taste my dinner on his journey fast crowds attended him towards whom he turned and said if anyone is coming to me who does not hate his father and mother wife and children brothers and sisters yes and his own life also he cannot be a disciple of mine no one who does not carry his own cross and come after me can be a disciple of mine which of you desiring to build a tower does not sit down first and calculate the cost asking if he has the means to finish it lest perhaps when he has laid the foundation and is unable to finish all who see it shall begin to cheer at him saying this man began to build but could not finish or what king marching to encounter another king in war does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with 10 000 men to meet the one who is advancing against him with 20 000 if not while the other is still a long way off he sends messengers and sues for peace just as no one of you who does not detach himself from all that belongs to him can be a disciple of mine salt is good but if even the salt has become tasteless what will you use to season it neither for land nor dung hill is it of any use they throw it away listen everyone who has ears to listen with chapter 15 now the tax gatherers and the notorious sinners were everywhere in the habit of coming close to him to listen to him and this led the Pharisees and the scribes indignantly to complain saying he gives a welcome to notorious sinners and joins them at their meals so in figurative language he asked them which of you men if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them does not leave the 99 in their pasture and go in search of the lost one till he finds it and when he has found it he lifts it on his shoulder glad at heart then coming home he calls his friends and neighbors together and says congratulate me for i have found my sheep the one i had lost i tell you that in the same way there will be rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner more rejoicing than over 99 blameless persons who have no need of repentance or what woman who has 10 silver coins if she loses one of them does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully till she finds it and when she has found it she calls together her friends and neighbors and says congratulate me for i have found the coin which i had lost i tell you that in the same way there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of god over one repentant sinner he went on to say there was a man who had two sons the younger of them said to his father father give me the share of the property that comes to me so he divided his wealth between them no long time afterwards the younger son got all together and traveled to a distant country where he wasted his money in debauchery and excess at last when he had spent everything there came a terrible famine throughout that country and he began to fill the pinch of want so he went and hired himself to one of the inhabitants of that country who sent him on to his farm to tend swine and he longed to make a hearty meal of the pods the swine were eating but no one gave him any but on coming to himself he said how many of my fathers hired men have more bread than they want while i here am dying of hunger i will rise and go to my father and will say to him father i have sinned against heaven and before you i no longer deserve to be called a son of yours treat me as one of your hired men so he rose and came to his father but while he was still a long way off his father saw him and pitied him and ran and threw his arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly father cried the son i have sinned against heaven and before you no longer do i deserve to be called a son of yours but the father said to his servants fetch a good coat quickly the best one and put it on him and bring a ring for his finger and shoes for his feet fetch the fat calf and kill it and let us feast and enjoy ourselves for my son here was dead and has come to life again he was lost and has been found and they began to be merry now his elder son was out on the farm and when he returned and came near home he heard music and dancing then he called one of the lads to him and asked what all this meant your brother has come he replied and your father has had the fat calf killed because he has got him home safe and sound then he was angry and would not go in but his father came out and treated him all these years replied the son i have been slaving for you and i have never at any time disobeyed any of your orders and yet you have never given me so much as a kid for me to enjoy myself with my friends but now that this son of yours has come who has eaten up your property among his bad women you have killed the fat calf for him you my dear son said the father are always with me and all that is mine is also yours we are bound to make merry and rejoice for this brother of yours was dead and has come back to life he was lost and has been found chapter 16 he said also to his disciples there was a rich man who had a steward about whom a report was brought to him that he was wasting his property he called him and said what is this i hear about you render an account of your stewardship for i cannot let you hold it any longer then the steward said within himself what am i to do for my master is taking away the stewardship from me i am not strong enough for field labor to beg i should be ashamed i see what to do in order that when i am discharged from the stewardship they may give me a home in their own houses so he called all his master's debtors one by one and asked the first how much are you in debt to my master a hundred ferkins of oil he replied here is your account said the steward sit down quickly and change it into 50 ferkins to a second he said and how much do you owe a hundred quarters of wheat was the answer here is your account said he change it into 80 quarters and the master praised the dishonest steward for his shrewdness for in relation to their own contemporaries the men of this age are shrewder than the sons of light but i charge you so to use the wealth which is ever tempting to dishonesty as to win friends who when it fails shall welcome you to the tents that never perish the man who was honest in a very small matter is honest in a great one also and he who is dishonest in a very small matter is dishonest in a great one also if therefore you have not proved yourselves faithful in dealing with the wealth that is tainted with fraud who will entrust to you the true good and if you have not been faithful in dealing with that which is not your own who will give you that which is your own no servant can be in bondage to two masters for either he will hate one and love the other or else he will cling fast to one and scorn the other you cannot be bond servants both of god and of gold to all this the Pharisees listened bitterly jeering at him for they were lovers of money you are they he said to them who boast of their own goodness before men but god sees your hearts for that which holds a proud position among men is detestable in god's sight the law and the prophets continued until john came from that time the good news of the kingdom of god has been spreading and all classes have been forcing their way into it but it is easier for earth and sky to pass away than for one smallest detail of the law to fall to the ground every man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery and he who marries her when so divorced from her husband commits adultery there was once a rich man who habitually arrayed himself in purple and fine linen and enjoyed a splendid banquet every day while at his outer door there lay a beggar Lazarus by name covered with sores and longing to make a full meal off the scraps flung on the floor from the rich man's table nay the dogs too used to come and lick his sores but in course of time the beggar died and he was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom the rich man also died and had a funeral and in Hades being in torment he looked and saw Abraham in the far distance and Lazarus resting in his arms so he cried aloud and said father Abraham take pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue for I am in agony in this flame remember my child said Abraham that you had all your good things during your lifetime and that Lazarus in like manner had his bad things but now and here he is receiving consolation and you are in agony and besides all this a vast chasm is immovably fixed between us and you but there in order that those who desire to cross from this side to you may not be able nor any be able to cross over from your side to us I intrigue you then father said he to send him to my father's house for I have five brothers let him earnestly warn them lest they also come to this place of torment they have Moses and the prophets replied Abraham let them hear them no father Abraham he pleaded but if someone goes to them from the dead they will repent if they are deaf to Moses and the prophets replied Abraham they would not be led to believe even if someone should rise from the dead the end of chapters 13 through 16 of the gospel according to luke from the new testament in modern speech translated by richard francis weymouth recording by mark penfold