Matthew 8 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

When he came down from the mountain, huge crowds followed him.

Then a man with a serious skin disease came up and knelt in front of him, saying, "Master, if you're willing, you can make me clean."

Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing. Be clean." And instantly his skin disease was healed.

Then Jesus told him, "Make sure you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded — that will be your proof to everyone."

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a Roman military officer came to him, pleading with him.

"Master," he said, "my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering terribly."

Jesus said to him, "I'll come and heal him."

The officer replied, "Master, I don't deserve to have you come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed."

"I know this because I'm a man under authority myself, with soldiers under me. I tell one, 'Go,' and he goes. I tell another, 'Come,' and he comes. I tell my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "I'm telling you the truth — I haven't found faith like this in anyone in Israel."

"And I tell you, many will come from east and west and take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven."

"But the ones who were supposed to inherit the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth."

Then Jesus said to the officer, "Go. What you believed would happen — it's done." And his servant was healed at that exact moment.

When Jesus came to Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.

He touched her hand and the fever left her. She got up and began serving him.

When evening came, people brought to him many who were controlled by evil spirits, and he drove out the spirits with a command and healed everyone who was sick.

This fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took on our weaknesses and carried our diseases."

When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.

Then a religious scholar came up and said to him, "Teacher, I'll follow you wherever you go."

Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Another one of his followers said to him, "Master, let me go and bury my father first."

But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Then he got into the boat, and his followers went with him.

Suddenly a massive storm hit the lake — the waves were crashing over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.

His followers came and woke him up, saying, "Master, save us! We're going to die!"

He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? You have such little faith." Then he got up and gave orders to the winds and the sea, and it became completely calm.

The men were stunned and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea do what he says!"

When he arrived on the other side, in the region of the Gadarenes, two men controlled by evil spirits came out from among the tombs to meet him. They were so violent that no one could travel that road.

They screamed, "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

Some distance away, a large herd of pigs was feeding.

The evil spirits begged him, "If you're going to drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

He said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and the entire herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

The herders ran off, went into the town, and reported everything — including what had happened to the men controlled by evil spirits.

Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.