Luke 9 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over every demon and to heal diseases.

Then he sent them out to announce God's kingdom and to heal the sick.

He told them, "Don't take anything for the road — no walking stick, no bag, no bread, no money. And don't pack an extra shirt.

Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.

And if people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a statement against them."

So they set out and went from village to village, spreading the good news and healing people everywhere.

Now Herod the regional ruler heard about everything that was happening, and he was deeply confused because some people were saying that John had been raised from the dead,

while others said Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the ancient prophets had come back to life.

Herod said, "I had John's head cut off. So who is this person I keep hearing about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus.

When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida.

But the crowds found out and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about God's kingdom, and healed those who needed healing.

As the day was winding down, the twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside to find food and lodging, because we're out here in the middle of nowhere."

But he told them, "You give them something to eat." They said, "All we have is five loaves of bread and two fish — unless you want us to go buy food for all these people."

(There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his followers, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty."

They did so, and everyone sat down.

Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, broke them, and kept handing them to the followers to distribute to the crowd.

Everyone ate and was completely satisfied. And the leftovers filled twelve baskets.

Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only his followers nearby, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"

They answered, "John the Submerger. Others say Elijah. And others say one of the ancient prophets has come back to life."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "God's One."

Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, "The Son of Man has to go through terrible suffering. He'll be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the legal experts. He'll be killed, and on the third day he'll be raised back to life."

Then he said to everyone, "If anyone wants to come with me, they need to let go of themselves, pick up their execution stake every day, and follow me.

Because whoever tries to hold on to their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will save it.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world but destroy or lose themselves?

If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and the set-apart messengers.

"I'm telling you the truth — some of you standing here right now will not die before they see God's kingdom."

About eight days after he said this, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up on a mountain to pray.

While he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became blazing white, like a flash of lightning.

Suddenly two men were there talking with him — Moses and Elijah.

They appeared in radiant glory, and they were discussing his departure, which he was about to carry out in Jerusalem.

Peter and his companions had been heavy with sleep, but when they fully woke up, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.

As Moses and Elijah were leaving, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it's good that we're here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." He didn't really know what he was saying.

While he was still talking, a cloud came and covered them, and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.

A voice came from the cloud: "This is my Son, the one I have chosen. Listen to him!"

After the voice had spoken, they found Jesus alone. The followers kept this to themselves and told no one at that time what they had seen.

The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him.

A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I'm begging you, look at my son — he's my only child.

A spirit keeps seizing him and he suddenly screams. It throws him into convulsions with foaming at the mouth, and it's destroying him — it barely ever lets him go.

I begged your followers to drive it out, but they couldn't."

Jesus answered, "You stubborn, faithless generation! How long do I have to be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."

Even as the boy was coming, the demon slammed him to the ground in a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.

Everyone was stunned by the greatness of God. While they were all marveling at everything Jesus was doing, he said to his followers,

"Let these words sink deep into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be handed over to people."

But they didn't understand what he meant. It was hidden from them so they couldn't grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

An argument started among the followers about which of them was the greatest.

Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their hearts, took a little child and had the child stand beside him.

He told them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Because the one who is least among all of you — that's the one who is great."

John spoke up: "Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he's not one of us."

"Don't stop him," Jesus said. "Whoever isn't against you is for you."