THE BOOK OF MARK

 

Mark Chapter 6

1 ¶ Then Jesus left that place, and went to his home town; and his disciples followed him.

2 And when the sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many who heard him were astonished, saying, Where did this man get these things? and what wisdom has been given to him, that even miracles are performed by his hands?

3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, Joseph, Juda, and Simon? and aren’t his sisters here with us? And they took offence at him.

4 But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his home town, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.

5 And he could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people, and heal them.

6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went from village to village, teaching.

7 ¶ And calling the twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

8 And he instructed them to take nothing for their journey, except a staff; no bag, no bread, no money in their coin purse:

9 To wear sandals; but not to put on two tunics.

10 And he also told them, Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

11 And whenever a place will not welcome you, or listen to you, shake the dust off of your feet, as you leave, as a testimony against them. I tell you truly, It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha on the day of judgment, than for that city.

12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed many who were sick with oil, and healed them.

14 ¶ And king Herod heard about him; (for his name became known:) and he said, John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.

15 Others said, He is Elijah. Still others said, He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.

16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he has risen from the dead.

17 For Herod himself had given orders and had John arrested, and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife: whom he had married.

18 For John had told Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.

19 Therefore Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him; but she was not able:

20 Because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and kept him safe; and when he listened to him, he was greatly disturbed, yet heard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity presented itself on Herod’s birthday, when he gave a banquet for his officials, tribunes, and the leading men in Galilee;

22 For when the daughter of Herodias came in, and danced, it pleased Herod and those who sat with him, moreover the king said to the girl, Ask of me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.

23 And he swore to her, Whatever you will ask of me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.

24 And she went out, and said to her mother, What shall I ask for? And she answered, The head of John the Baptist.

25 And she immediately hurried back to the king, and said, I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter.

26 And the king was very sorry; yet because of his oath, and because of his dinner guests, he would not refuse her.

27 So he immediately sent an executioner, with orders to bring John’s head: and he went and beheaded John in the prison,

28 And brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl: and the girl gave it to her mother.

29 And when John’s disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

30 ¶ And the apostles gathered around Jesus, and reported to him everything, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

31 And he said to them, Come away by yourselves to a deserted spot, and rest a while: for so many people were coming and going, that they did not even have time to eat.

32 And they went away in the boat by themselves to a solitary place.

33 But many saw them leaving, and understood, and ran there on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them, and gathered around him.

34 And when he landed, Jesus saw many people, and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.

35 Now when it was already late in the day, his disciples came to him, and said, This is a remote place, and the hour is now late:

36 Send them away, so that they may go into the surrounding countryside, and villages, and buy food for themselves: for they have nothing to eat.

37 He answered them saying, You give them something to eat. And they said to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?

38 He said to them, How many loaves do you have? go and see. And when they knew, they said, Five, and two fishes.

39 Then Jesus directed them to make everyone sit down in groups on the green grass.

40 And they sat down in groups, of hundreds, and of fifties.

41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed the loaves, and broke them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.

42 And they all ate, and were filled.

43 And the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces of bread, and of fish.

44 And there were about five thousand men who ate the loaves.

45 ¶ And immediately Jesus insisted that his disciples get into the boat, and go ahead to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he sent the people away.

46 And after he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain to pray.

47 And when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was by himself on the land.

48 And he saw the disciples straining at the oars; for the wind was against them: and about the fourth watch of the night he came toward them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

49 But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a spirit, and cried out:

50 For they all saw him, and were terrified. And immediately he spoke to them, and said to them, Be of good cheer: it is I; do not be afraid.

51 And he climbed into the boat with them; and the wind ceased: and they were greatly astonished, and completely dumfounded.

52 For they had not understood the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

53 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret, and were anchored near the shore.

54 And as soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized him,

55 And ran throughout that entire region, and began to carry those who were sick, on their pallets, to wherever they heard he was.

56 And wherever he would go, into villages, or into cities, or into the country, they laid the sick on the streets, and begged him to let them touch even the edge of his garment: and as many as touched him were healed.