Mark 6:1-8:38

^6:1 And he went out from there and came into his own country, and his disciples followed him. ² And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things?” and, “What is the wisdom that is given to this man, that such mighty works come about by his hands? ³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Miriam, and brother of Jacob, Josi, Judah, and Simon? Are not his sisters here with us?” They were offended at him.

⁴ Yeshua said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.” ⁵ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people, and healed them. ⁶ And he was amazed because of their unbelief.

And he went around the villages teaching. ⁷ And he called to himself the twelve, and began to send them out two by two; and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸ And he commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only: no bread, no pack, no money in their belts, ⁹ but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Wherever you enter into a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you or listen to you, as you depart from there, shake off the dust that is under your feet for a testimony against them.”

¹² So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. ¹³ They cast out many demons, and anointed many with oil who were sick, and healed them. ¹⁴ King Herod heard this, for his name had become known, and he said, “John the Immerser has risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵ But others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets.” ¹⁶ But Herod, when he heard this, said, “This is John, whom I beheaded. He has risen.” ¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for he had married her. ¹⁸ For John said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ So Herodias set herself against him, and desired to kill him, but she could not, ²⁰ for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed, but he heard him gladly.

²¹ And then a convenient day came, that Herod on his birthday gave a supper for his nobles, the high officers, and the leaders of Galilee. ²² And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those sitting with him. The king said to the young woman, “Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴ So she went out, and said to her mother, “What should I ask?”

And she said, “The head of John, the one immersing.”

²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Immerser on a platter.”

²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but for the sake of his oaths, and of his dinner guests, he did not wish to refuse her. ²⁷ So immediately the king sent out a soldier of his guard, and commanded to bring John’s head, and he went and beheaded him in the prison, ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the young woman; and the young woman gave it to her mother.

²⁹ And when his talmidim heard this, they came and took up his corpse, and placed it in a tomb.

³⁰ Then the emissaries gathered themselves together to Yeshua, and they told him all things, whatever they had done, and whatever they had taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place, and rest awhile.” For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. ³² So they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves. ³³ But they saw them going, and many recognized him and ran there on foot from all the cities and they arrived before them. ³⁴ And he came out, saw a large crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ And when it was late in the day, his talmidim came to him, and said, “This place is desolate, and it is late in the day. ³⁶ Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”

They asked him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give them something to eat?”

³⁸ He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go see.”

When they knew, they said, “Five, and two fish.”

³⁹ He commanded them that everyone should sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ They sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves, and he gave to his talmidim to set before them, and he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² They all ate, and were filled. ⁴³ They took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. ⁴⁴ Those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

⁴⁵ And immediately he made his talmidim get into the boat, and to go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After he had taken leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ When evening had come, the boat was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw them distressed in rowing, for the wind was against them. In the watch between three and six in the morning he came to them, walking on the sea, and he would have passed by them, ⁴⁹ but they, when they saw him walking on the sea, supposed that it was a ghost, and began to scream; ⁵⁰ for they all saw him, and were troubled. But he immediately spoke with them, and said to them, “Cheer up. It is I. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were completely profusely astonished among themselves; ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ When they had come out of the boat, immediately the people recognized him, ⁵⁵ and ran around that whole region, and began to bring those who were sick, on their mats, to where they heard he was. ⁵⁶ Wherever he entered, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they placed the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch just the fringe of his garment; and everyone who touched him were made well.

^7:1 Then the Pharisees, and some of the scribes gathered together to him, having come from Jerusalem. ² Now when they saw some of his talmidim eating bread with defiled, that is, unwashed, hands, they found fault. ³ (For the Pharisees, and all Jewish people, do not eat unless they wash their hands and forearms, holding to the Tradition of the Elders. ⁴ They do not eat when they come from the marketplace unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold to, the washing of cups and pitchers and copper vessels and dining couches.) ⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your talmidim not walk according to the Tradition of the Elders, but eat their bread with unwashed hands?”

⁶ He said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
⁷ And in vain do they worship me,
teaching instructions that are the commandments of humans.’

⁸ “Having left the commandment of God, you hold tightly to human tradition.” ⁹ He said to them, “Full well do you reject the commandment of God, that you may establish your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God;”‘ ¹² then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, ¹³ making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this.”

¹⁴ And he called the crowd to himself again, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵ There is nothing from outside of the person, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the person are what defile the person.” ¹⁶

¹⁷ When he had entered into a house away from the crowd, his talmidim asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, then into the latrine, cleansing all the foods?” ²⁰ He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. ²¹ For from within, out of a person’s heart, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts, ²² covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

²⁴ From there he arose, and went away into the region of Tyre and Sidon. He entered into a house, and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell at his feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race. She begged him that he would cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸ But she answered and said to him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹ He said to her, “For this saying, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰ And when she went away to her house, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

³¹ Again he departed from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the region of Decapolis. ³² They brought to him one who was deaf and had a speech difficulty, and they begged Yeshua to lay his hand on him. ³³ He took him aside from the crowd, privately, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat, and touched his tongue. ³⁴ Looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha.” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵ And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was released, and he spoke clearly. ³⁶ He commanded them that they should tell no one, but the more he commanded them, so much the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷ They were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He makes even the deaf hear, and the mute speak.”

^8:1 In those days, when there was a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat, he called the talmidim to himself, and said to them, ² “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me now three days, and have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come a long way.”

⁴ His talmidim answered him, “From where could one satisfy these people with bread here in a deserted place?”

⁵ He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.”

⁶ He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves. Having given thanks, he broke them, and gave them to his talmidim to serve, and they served the crowd. ⁷ They had a few small fish. Having blessed them, he said to serve these also. ⁸ They ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets of broken pieces that were left over. ⁹ Now they were about four thousand. Then he sent them away.

¹⁰ Immediately he entered into the boat with his talmidim, and came into the region of Dalmanutha. ¹¹ The Pharisees came out and began to question him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him. ¹² He sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

¹³ And he left them, and got into the boat again, and went to the other side. ¹⁴ Now they forgot to take bread; and they did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. ¹⁵ He warned them, saying, “Watch out; guard yourselves against the hametz of the Pharisees and the hametz of Herod.”

¹⁶ And they began discussing among themselves that they had no bread.

¹⁷ He, perceiving it, said to them, “Why do you reason that it’s because you have no bread? Do you not perceive yet, neither understand? Are your hearts hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? Do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”

They told him, “Twelve.”

²⁰ “When the seven loaves fed the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?”

And they said, “Seven.”

²¹ He asked them, “Do you not yet understand?”

²² He came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to him, and begged Yeshua to touch him. ²³ He took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes, and placed his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴ He looked up, and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking.”

²⁵ Then again he laid his hands on his eyes. He made him look up, and was restored, and saw everything clearly. ²⁶ He sent him away to his house, saying, “Do not enter into the village.”

²⁷ Yeshua went out, with his talmidim, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his talmidim, “Who do people say that I am?”

²⁸ And they said to him, saying, “John the Immerser, and others say Elijah, but others: one of the prophets.”

²⁹ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to him, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ He commanded them that they should tell no one about him. ³¹ He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, the chief cohanim, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² He spoke to them openly. Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. ³³ But he, turning around, and seeing his talmidim, rebuked Peter, and said, “Get behind me, Satan. For you have in mind not the things of God, but the things of man.”

³⁴ He called the crowd to himself with his talmidim, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”