Knox Bible

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And he called the twelve apostles to him, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases,

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sending them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

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He told them, Take nothing with you to use on your journey, staff or wallet or bread or money; you are not to have more than one coat apiece.

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You are to lodge in the house you first enter, and not change your abode.

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And wherever they deny you a welcome, as you leave the city, shake off the dust from your feet, in witness against them.✻

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So they set out and passed through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing the sick wherever they went.

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And Herod, who was prince in that quarter, heard of all his doings, and did not know what to think,

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some telling him that John had risen from the dead, and some that Elias had appeared, and some that one of the old prophets had returned to life.

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John, said Herod, I beheaded; who can this be, of whom I hear such reports? And he was eager to see him.

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And now the apostles came back and told Jesus of all they had done. And he retired, taking them with him, to a desert place in the Bethsaida country, where they could be alone.

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But the multitudes heard of it, and followed him; so he gave them welcome, and spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and cured those who were in need of healing.

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And now the day began to wear on; and the twelve came and said to him, Give the multitudes leave to go to the villages and farms round about, so that they can find lodging and food; we are in desert country here.

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But he told them, It is for you to give them food to eat. We have no more, they said, than five loaves and two fishes, unless thou wouldst have us go ourselves and buy food for all this assembly.

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About five thousand men were gathered there. So he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by companies of fifty;

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and they did this, bidding all of them sit down.

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Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looked up to heaven, and blessed them, and broke, and gave them to his disciples, to set before the multitude.

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All ate and had their fill, and when what they left over was picked up, it filled twelve baskets.✻

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There was a time when he had gone apart to pray, and his disciples were with him; and he asked them, Who do the multitude say that I am?

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They answered, John the Baptist; others say Elias; others, that one of the old prophets has returned to life.

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Then he said to them, But who do you say that I am? And Peter answered, Thou art the Christ whom God has anointed.

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And he laid a strict charge upon them, bidding them tell no one of it;

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The Son of Man, he said, is to be much ill-used, and rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be put to death, and rise again on the third day.

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And he said to all alike, If any man has a mind to come my way, let him renounce self, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

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He who tries to save his life will lose it; it is the man who loses his life for my sake, that will save it.

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How is a man the better for gaining the whole world, if he loses himself, if he pays the forfeit of himself?

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If anyone is ashamed of acknowledging me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed to acknowledge him, when he comes in his glory, with his Father and the holy angels to glorify him.

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Believe me, there are those standing here who will not taste of death before they have seen the kingdom of God.✻

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It was about a week after all this was said, that he took Peter and John and James with him, and went up on to the mountain-side to pray.

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And even as he prayed, the fashion of his face was altered, and his garments became white and dazzling;

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and two men appeared conversing with him, Moses and Elias,

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seen now in glory; and they spoke of the death which he was to achieve at Jerusalem.

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Meanwhile, Peter and his companions were sunk in sleep; and they awoke to see him in his glory, and the two men standing with him.

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And, just as these were parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is well that we should be here; let us make three arbours in this place, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. But he spoke at random:

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and even as he said it, a cloud formed, overshadowing them; they saw those others disappear into the cloud, and were terrified.

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And a voice came from the cloud, This is my beloved Son; to him, then, listen.

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And as the voice sounded, Jesus was discovered alone. They kept silence, and at the time said nothing of what they had seen to anybody.

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It was on the next day that they came down from the mountain, and were met by a great multitude;

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and now, from the midst of this multitude, a man cried out, I entreat thee, Master, look with favour upon my son; he is my only child.

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There are times when a spirit seizes upon him, making him cry out suddenly, and throws him into a convulsion, foaming at the mouth; then it goes away, but only with a pang which lacerates him.

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And I entreated thy disciples to cast it out, but they could not.

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Jesus answered, Ah, faithless and misguided generation, how long must I be with you, how long must I bear with you? Bring thy son here.

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And even as the boy was on his way, the devil threw him down in a convulsion.

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But Jesus checked the unclean spirit, and cured the boy, and gave him back to his father;✻

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so that all were amazed at this great evidence of God’s power. And while men were yet wondering at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, Remember this well. The Son of Man is soon to be betrayed into the hands of men.

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But they could not understand what he said; it was hidden from them, so that they could not perceive the meaning of it; and they were afraid to ask him about this saying of his.

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And a question arose among them, which of them was the greatest.

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Jesus, who saw what was occupying their thoughts, took hold of a little child and gave it a place beside him,

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and said to them, He who welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and he who welcomes me welcomes him that sent me. He who is least in all your company is the greatest.

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And John answered, Master, we saw a man who does not follow in our company casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him to do it.

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But Jesus said, Forbid him no more; the man who is not against you is on your side.✻

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And now the time was drawing near for his taking away from the earth, and he turned his eyes steadfastly towards the way that led to Jerusalem.

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And he sent messengers before him, who came into a Samaritan village, to make all in readiness.

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But the Samaritans refused to receive him, because his journey was in the direction of Jerusalem.

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When they found this, two of his disciples, James and John, asked him, Lord, wouldst thou have us bid fire come down from heaven, and consume them?✻

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But he turned and rebuked them, You do not understand, he said, what spirit it is you share.

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The Son of Man has come to save men’s lives, not to destroy them. And so they passed on to another village.✻

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As they went on their journey, a man said to him, I will follow thee wherever thou art going.

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But Jesus told him, Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air their resting-places; the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

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To another he said, Follow me, and he answered, Lord, give me leave to go home and bury my father first.

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But Jesus said to him, Leave the dead to bury their dead; it is for thee to go out and proclaim God’s kingdom.✻

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And there was yet another who said, Lord, I will follow thee, but first let me take leave of my friends.

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To him Jesus said, No one who looks behind him, when he has once put his hand to the plough, is fitted for the kingdom of God.