God, I am very sad and afraid. Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, "Is the LORD still at Zion? Is Zion's King still there?" But God says, "The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?"

And the people say, "Harvest time is over. Summer is gone, and still we have not been saved." My people are hurt, so I am hurt. I am too sad to speak. Surely there is some medicine in Gilead. Surely there is a doctor in Gilead. So why are the wounds of my people not healed?

Jesus came down from the hill, and a large crowd followed him. Then a man sick with leprosy came to him. The man bowed down before Jesus and said, "Lord, you have the power to heal me if you want." Jesus touched the man. He said, "I want to heal you. Be healed!" Immediately the man was healed from his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, "Don't tell anyone about what happened. But go and let the priest look at you. And offer the gift that Moses commanded for people who are made well. This will show everyone that you are healed."

Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for a special Jewish festival. In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches. In Aramaic it is called Bethzatha. This pool is near the Sheep Gate. Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some of them were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed. (Sometimes an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and shook the water. After this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had.)

One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been sick for a very long time. So he asked him, "Do you want to be well?" The sick man answered, "Sir, there is no one to help me get into the water when it starts moving. I try to be the first one into the water. But when I try, someone else always goes in before I can." Then Jesus said, "Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk." Immediately the man was well. He picked up his mat and started walking. The day all this happened was a Sabbath day.