< Luke 4 >
1 As Jesus left the Jordan [River valley], the Holy Spirit was completely controlling him.
2 For 40 days the Spirit led him around in the desolate area. During that time Jesus was being tempted by the devil {the devil was tempting him}, and Jesus did not eat anything. When that time ended, he was [very] hungry.
3 Then the devil said to Jesus, “Because you [claim that you] ([have a relationship with] God as a son [has with his father] [MET]/are the man who is both God and man), [prove it by] telling these stones to become bread [so that you can eat them]!”
4 Jesus replied, “[No, I will not change stones into bread, because it is written] {[Moses] wrote} [in the Scriptures] that [eating] food sustains people physically, but it does not [sustain them spiritually. They also need food for their spirits].”
5 Then the devil took him on top of [a high mountain] and showed him in an instant all the nations in the world.
6 Then he said to [Jesus], “I will give you the authority [to rule] all these areas and will make you famous. [I can do this] because [God] has permitted me [to control these areas], and I can allow anyone I desire to rule them!
7 So if you worship me, I will [let] you [rule] them all!”
8 But Jesus replied, “[No, I] will not [worship you, because] it is written {[the Psalmist] wrote} [in the Scriptures], ‘It is the Lord, your God, whom you must worship, and you must serve only him!’”
9 Then the devil took [Jesus] to Jerusalem. He set him on the highest part of the Temple and said to him, “Because you [claim that you] ([have a relationship with God as a son has with his father] [MET]/are the man who is both God and man), [prove it by] jumping down from here.
10 [You will not be hurt], because it is written {the [Psalmist] wrote} [in the Scriptures], ‘God will command his angels to protect you [(sg)].
11 They will lift you up with their hands [when you are falling], so that [you will not get hurt]. You will not [even] strike your foot on a stone.’”
12 But Jesus replied, “[No, I] will not [do that, because] it is written {[Moses] wrote} [in the Scriptures]: ‘Do not try to test the Lord your God [to see if he will prevent something bad from happening to you when you do something foolish]’.”
13 Then, after the devil had finished trying to tempt [Jesus] in many ways, he left him. He wanted to try to tempt him later at an appropriate time.
14 As the Spirit empowered him, Jesus returned to Galilee [district. People] throughout all that region heard about what he [was doing].
15 He taught [people] in their (synagogues/meeting places). [As a result], he was praised by everyone {everyone praised him}.
16 Then [Jesus] went to Nazareth, [the town] where he grew up. (On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day) he went (to the synagogue/to the Jewish meeting place), as he usually did. He stood up [to indicate that he wanted] to read [Scriptures] to them.
17 A scroll containing [the words] that the prophet Isaiah [had written] was given to him {[Someone] gave to him a scroll containing [the words] that the prophet Isaiah [had written]}. He opened the scroll and found the place from which he [wanted to] read. [He read these words]:
18 The Spirit (of the Lord/of God) is upon me. He has appointed [MTY] me to declare God’s good news to the poor. He has sent me [here] to proclaim that God will deliver those whom [Satan] has captured, and he will [enable me to] enable those who are blind to see. He will enable me to free people who have been oppressed {whom [others] have oppressed}.
19 And he sent me to declare that now is the time when (the Lord/God) will [act] favorably [toward people].
20 Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down [to teach the people]. Everyone in the synagogue was looking intently [MTY] at him.
21 He said to them, “Today as you have been hearing [MTY] [me speak], [I am beginning] to fulfill this Scripture passage.”
22 [At first] everyone there spoke well about him, and they were amazed at the charming words that he spoke. [But then some of] them said, “(He is [only] Joseph’s son!/Isn’t he [only] Joseph’s son?) [RHQ] [So] ([it is useless for us(exc) to listen to what he says!/why should we(exc) listen to what he says]?) [RHQ]”
23 He said to them, “Surely [some of] you will quote to me the proverb that says, ‘Doctor, heal yourself!’ [What you will mean is], ‘People told us that you did miracles in Capernaum [town, but we(exc) do not know if those reports are true. So] do miracles here in your own hometown, too!’”
24 Then he said, “It is certainly true that [people] do not accept [the message of] a prophet when he speaks in his hometown, [just like you(pl) are not accepting my message now].
25 But think about this: There were many widows in Israel during the time when [the prophet] Elijah [lived. During that time], because of there being no rain [MTY] for three years and six months, there was a great famine throughout the country.
26 But [God] did not send Elijah to [help] any of those [Jewish] widows. [God sent him] to Zarepath [town] near Sidon [city], to [help] a [non-Jewish] widow.
27 There were also many [Jewish] lepers in Israel during the time when the prophet Elisha [lived]. But [Elisha] did not heal any of them. He healed only Naaman, a [non-Jewish] man from Syria.”
28 When all the people in the synagogue heard him say that, they were very angry, [because they realized that he was inferring that he similarly would help non-Jewish people instead of helping Jews] (OR, [that they also were not worthy of receiving God’s help]).
29 So they all got up and shoved him out of the town. They took him to the top of the hill outside their town in order to throw him off the cliff [and kill him].
30 But he [simply] walked through their midst and went away.
31 [One day] Jesus went [with his disciples] down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee [district]. On the next (Sabbath/Jewish day of rest) (OR, Each (Sabbath/Jewish day of rest)), he taught the people ([in the synagogue/in the Jewish meeting place]).
32 They were continually amazed at what he was teaching, because [he spoke] ([with authority/as people speak who have] the right to command others what to do).
33 [That day], (OR, On one of those Jewish days of rest, ) there was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. That man shouted very loudly,
34 “Hey! Jesus, from Nazareth! [We(exc) evil spirits] have nothing in common with you, so ([do not interfere with us now!/why should you interfere with us now]?) [RHQ] (Do not destroy us [now!]/Have you come to destroy us [now]?) [RHQ] I know who you are. You are the Holy One [who has come] from God!”
35 Jesus rebuked [the evil spirit], saying, “Be quiet! And come out [of the man]!” The demon threw the man down on the ground in the midst of the people. But without harming the man, the demon left him.
36 The people were all amazed. They said to each other, “(What he says to the demons [has great power!/] [kind of] teaching is this?) [RHQ] He speaks to them like he knows that they must obey him, and as a result they leave people!”
37 The people were telling everyone in [every village] in the surrounding region what Jesus [had done].
38 Jesus [and his disciples] left (the synagogue/the Jewish meeting place) and entered Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was sick and had a high fever. So [others in Simon’s family] (OR, [the disciples]) asked Jesus to [heal] her.
39 So he bent over her and commanded the fever to leave her. At once she became well! She got up and served them [some food].
40 When the sun was setting [that day, and the restriction about not traveling] (on [the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day]) [was ended], many people [HYP] whose [friends or relatives] were sick or who had various diseases brought them to Jesus. He put his hands on them and healed [all of] them.
41 He also was [expelling demons] from many people. As the demons left those people, they shouted to Jesus, “You are (the Son of God/the one who is God and man)!” But he rebuked those demons and would not allow them to tell [people about him], because they knew that he was the Messiah, and [for various reasons he did not want everyone to know that yet].
42 [Early] the next morning [Jesus] left that house and went to an uninhabited place [to pray]. Many people searched for him, and when they found him they kept urging him not to leave them.
43 But he said to them, “I must tell [people] in other towns also the good message about how God wants to rule [MET] their lives, because that is what I was sent {[God] sent me} to do.”
44 So he kept preaching in (the synagogues/Jewish worship places) [in various towns] in Judea [province].
