Bible in Basic English
But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.
But he went away by himself to a waste place for prayer.
And it came about that on one of these days he was teaching; and some Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him, to make those who were ill free from their diseases.
And some men had with them, on a bed, a man who was ill, without power of moving; and they made attempts to get him in and put him before Jesus.
And because of the mass of people, there was no way to get him in; so they went up on the top of the house and let him down through the roof, on his bed, into the middle in front of Jesus.
And seeing their faith he said, Man, you have forgiveness for your sins.
And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?
But Jesus, who had knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
Which is the simpler: to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go?
But so that you may see that on earth the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins, (he said to the man who was ill,) I say to you, Get up, and take up your bed, and go into your house.
And straight away he got up before them, and took up his bed and went away to his house giving praise to God.
And wonder overcame them all, and they gave glory to God; and they were full of fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.
And giving up his business, he got up and went after him.
And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them.
And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?
And Jesus, answering, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.
I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.
And they said to him, The disciples of John frequently go without food, and make prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your disciples take food and drink.
And Jesus said, Are you able to make the friends of the newly-married man go without food when he is with them?
But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food.
And he said to them, in a story, No man takes a bit of cloth from a new coat and puts it on to an old coat, for so the new coat would be damaged and the bit from the new would not go well with the old.
And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins, for fear that the skins will be burst by the new wine, and the wine be let out, and the skins come to destruction.
But new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.
And no man, having had old wine, has any desire for new, for he says, The old is better.
— Luke 5:15-1964, Bible in Basic English
“But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed. Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby(who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith he said,“Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves,“Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them,“Why are you raising objections within yourselves? Which is easier, to say,‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say,‘Stand up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”– he said to the paralyzed man–“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.” Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying,“We have seen incredible things today.” The Call of Levi; Eating with Sinners After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth.“Follow me,” he said to him. And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind. Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying,“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered them,“Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The Superiority of the New Then they said to him,“John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.” So Jesus said to them,“You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast.” He also told them a parable:“No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins. No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says,‘The old is good enough.’””
And it came about that while he was in one of the towns, there was a leper there: and when he saw Jesus he went down on his face in prayer to him, saying, Lord, if it is your pleasure, you have power to make me clean.
And he put out his hand to him and said, It is my pleasure; be clean. And straight away his disease went from him.
And he gave him orders: Say nothing to any man, but let the priest see you and give an offering so that you may be made clean, as the law of Moses says, and for a witness to them.
But news of him went out all the more, in every direction, and great numbers of people came together to give hearing to his words and to be made well from their diseases.
But he went away by himself to a waste place for prayer.
And it came about that on one of these days he was teaching; and some Pharisees and teachers of the law were seated there, who had come from every town of Galilee and Judaea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was with him, to make those who were ill free from their diseases.
And some men had with them, on a bed, a man who was ill, without power of moving; and they made attempts to get him in and put him before Jesus.
And because of the mass of people, there was no way to get him in; so they went up on the top of the house and let him down through the roof, on his bed, into the middle in front of Jesus.
And seeing their faith he said, Man, you have forgiveness for your sins.
And the scribes and Pharisees were having an argument, saying, Who is this, who has no respect for God? who is able to give forgiveness for sins, but God only?
But Jesus, who had knowledge of their thoughts, said to them, Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
Which is the simpler: to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go?
But so that you may see that on earth the Son of man has authority for the forgiveness of sins, (he said to the man who was ill,) I say to you, Get up, and take up your bed, and go into your house.
And straight away he got up before them, and took up his bed and went away to his house giving praise to God.
And wonder overcame them all, and they gave glory to God; and they were full of fear, saying, We have seen strange things today.
And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.
And giving up his business, he got up and went after him.
And Levi made a great feast for him in his house: and a great number of tax-farmers and others were seated at table with them.
And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?
And Jesus, answering, said to them, Those who are well have no need of a medical man, but those who are ill.
I have come, not to get the upright, but sinners, so that they may be turned from their sins.
And they said to him, The disciples of John frequently go without food, and make prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees; but your disciples take food and drink.
And Jesus said, Are you able to make the friends of the newly-married man go without food when he is with them?
But the days will come when he will be taken away from them, and then they will go without food.
And he said to them, in a story, No man takes a bit of cloth from a new coat and puts it on to an old coat, for so the new coat would be damaged and the bit from the new would not go well with the old.
And no man puts new wine into old wine-skins, for fear that the skins will be burst by the new wine, and the wine be let out, and the skins come to destruction.
But new wine has to be put into new wine-skins.
And no man, having had old wine, has any desire for new, for he says, The old is better.