And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying, “I want to. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
- KJV And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
- BSB Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him.
- NKJV Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him.
- NLT Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus touches the leper and immediately cleanses him. He shows compassion and power that purifies rather than being defiled.
Overview
Rather than being made unclean by contact, Jesus' touch makes the unclean clean, reversing the expected flow of defilement. His words 'I want to' answer the man's tentative plea with assured grace. This healing pictures the gospel: Christ willingly draws near to the defiled and cleanses them, ultimately through his atoning work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 9:29–30Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
- John 4:50–53Jesus said to him, “Go your way. Your son lives.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.
- Hos 14:4“I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from him.
- 2 Kgs 5:14Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
- Ezek 36:29I will save you from all your uncleanness: and I will call for the grain, and will multiply it, and lay no famine on you.
- Gen 1:9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.
- Ps 33:9For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm.
- Luke 4:39He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
- Ezek 36:25–27I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- Luke 8:54–55But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!”
- 2 Kgs 5:10Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.”
- Gen 1:3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 5:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.