Bible in Basic English
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 5:22-1964, Bible in Basic English
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.