World English Bible · Under Rome
Luke 9
Touch any underlined name to see who or where it is. Tap a verse number to see where it is taken up elsewhere.
He called the twelve together and gave them and over all , and to cure diseases. He sent them out to preach Kingdom and to heal the sick. He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey—no , nor wallet, nor bread, nor money. Don't have two tunics each. Into whatever house you enter, stay there, and depart from there. As many as don't receive you, when you depart from that city, shake off even from your feet for a against them." They departed and went throughout the villages, preaching the and healing everywhere. Now heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that had from , and by some that had appeared, and by others that one of the old had again. said, "I beheaded , but who is this about whom I hear such things?" He sought to see him. , when they had returned, told him what things they had done. He took them and withdrew apart to a region of a city called . But the , perceiving it, followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them of Kingdom, and he cured those who needed healing. The day began to wear away; and the twelve came and said to him, "Send away, that they may go into the surrounding villages and farms and lodge and get food, for we are here in a deserted place." But he said to them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we should go and buy food for all these people." For they were about five thousand men. He said to his , "Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each." 15They did so, and made them all sit down. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to , he them, broke them, and gave them to to set before . They ate and were all filled. They gathered up twelve baskets of broken pieces that were left over. As he was praying alone, were near him, and he asked them, "Who do the say that I am?" They answered, "',' but others say, ',' and others, that one of the old has again." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" answered, " of ." But he warned them and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, " must suffer many things, and be rejected by the , , and , and be killed, and the third day be up." He said to all, "If anyone to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his , and follow me. For whoever to his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake will it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits his own self? For whoever will be of me and of my words, of him will be when he comes in his , and the of , and of the . But I tell you the truth: There are some of those who stand here who will in no way taste of until they see Kingdom." About eight days after these sayings, he took with him , , and , and went up onto the mountain to . As he was praying, the appearance of was altered, and his clothing became white and dazzling. Behold, two men were talking with him, who were and , who appeared in and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at . Now and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his , and the two men who stood with him. As they were parting from him, said to , "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let's make three tents: one for you, one for , and one for ," not knowing what he said. While he said these things, a cloud came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered into the cloud. A voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" When the voice came, was found alone. They were silent, and told no one in those days any of the things which they had seen. On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great multitude met him. Behold, a man from the called out, saying, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only born child. Behold, a takes him, he suddenly cries out, and it convulses him so that he foams; and it hardly departs from him, bruising him severely. I begged your to cast it out, and they couldn't." answered, "Faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." While he was still coming, the threw him down and convulsed him violently. But rebuked the , healed the boy, and gave him back to his . They were all astonished at the majesty of . But while all were marveling at all the things which did, he said to his , "Let these words sink into your ears, for will be up into the hands of men." But they didn't understand this saying. It was concealed from them, that they should not perceive it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. An argument arose among them about which of them was the greatest. , perceiving the reasoning of their , took a little child, and set him by his side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in my name receives me. Whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For whoever is least among you all, this one will be great." answered, "Master, we saw someone casting out in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn't follow with us." said to him, "Don't forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us." It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set to go to and sent before . They went and entered into a village of the , so as to prepare for him. They didn't receive him, because he was traveling with set toward . When his , and , saw this, they said, ", do you want us to command to come down from and destroy them, as did?" But he turned and rebuked them, "You don't know of what kind of you are. For didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to them." They went to another village. As they went on , a certain man said to him, "I want to follow you wherever you go, ." said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of have nests, but has no place to lay his head." He said to another, "Follow me!" But he said, ", allow me first to go and bury ." But said to him, "Leave to bury their own , but you go and announce Kingdom." Another also said, "I want to follow you, , but first allow me to say good-bye to those who are at my house." But said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for Kingdom."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.