Mark Chapter 1
Preaching of John the Baptist
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.”
3 “The voice of one calling in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord; make straight paths for him.’”
4 John appeared in the wilderness, baptizing and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5 All the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.
6 Now John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8 I baptize you with water; But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
The baptism of Jesus
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10 And when he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
11 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Temptation of Jesus
12 And immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness.
13 And he was there in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan, and he was with the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
Jesus begins his ministry
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom.
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Jesus calls four fishermen
16 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
18 At once they left their nets and followed him.
19 Going on a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.
20 Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
A man who had an unclean spirit
21 They went to Capernaum, and on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught.
22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out,
24 “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!”
26 The impure spirit shook him violently and came out of him with a loud cry.
27 The people were all amazed and began to question among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits, and they obey him!”
28 News about him spread quickly throughout the whole region around Galilee.
Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law
29 As they left the synagogue, they went to the home of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.
30 Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they immediately told him about her.
31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up; immediately the fever left her, and she began to wait on them.
Many were healed at sunset
32 That evening, after sunset, the people brought to him all the sick and demon-possessed.
33 The whole town gathered at the door.
34 He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons; but he would not allow the demons to speak because they knew who he was.
Jesus travels through Galilee preaching
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
36 Simon and his companions went to look for him,
37 and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 Jesus replied, “Let’s go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”
39 Throughout Galilee, he traveled throughout the region, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Jesus heals a leper
40 A leper came to him, begging him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!”
42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.
43 Then Jesus gave him strict instructions and sent him away at once,
44 saying, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
45 But he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but stayed outside in deserted places. And people came to him from every quarter.
Mark Chapter 2
Jesus heals a paralytic
1 After some days Jesus returned to Capernaum, and it was reported that he was at home.
2 So many people gathered that there was no longer room, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3 Some people came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four men.
4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after digging through it, they lowered the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,
7 “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
8 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning this way within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning like this in your hearts?”
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?
10 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
11 “ I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”
12 At once he got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Levi's Call
13 Again Jesus went out to the lake, and a large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.
16 When the Pharisees and the teachers of the law saw him eating with tax collectors and sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The question about fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? As long as they have him, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and they will fast in those days.
21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the patch will pull away from the old, making the tear worse.
22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out, and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.”
The disciples pick grain on the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain.
24 The Pharisees asked him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25 He replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?
26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for the priests to eat, and he also gave some to his companions.”
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind, not humankind for the Sabbath.
28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark Chapter 3
The man with the dry hand
1 Again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.
2 They were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him.
3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Stand up and come forward.”
4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
5 Looking around at them in anger, grieved at their stubborn hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
6 The Pharisees went out and immediately began plotting with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.
The crowd on the seashore
7 But Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him. And from Judea,
8 from Jerusalem, from Idumea, from beyond the Jordan, and from the region around Tyre and Sidon, hearing what great things he was doing, great multitudes came to him.
9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him at all times because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him.
10 For he had healed many; so that all who had afflictions pressed upon him to touch him.
11 And the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
12 But he sternly rebuked them, that they should not make him known.
The election of the twelve apostles
13 After this, Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him.
14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach
15 and to have authority to drive out demons:
16 Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter),
17 James son of Zebedee and John, the brother of James (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder),
18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Then they went home.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
20 And the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat bread.
21 When his family heard of it, they went to arrest him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 But the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said that he was possessed by Beelzebub, and that by the prince of demons he cast out demons.
23 And he called them together and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.”
25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rises up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.
27 No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.
28 Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and every blasphemy they utter,
29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.
30 For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
Jesus' mother and brothers
31 Then his mother and brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent word to him, calling him.
32 The crowd sitting around him told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside, looking for you.”
33 He replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
34 Looking at those seated around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
35 For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark Chapter 4
Parable of the Sower
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the sea, and a large crowd gathered around him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, while all the people were on the shore by the sea.
2 And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow his seed.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds of the air came and devoured it.
5 Other seed fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.
6 But when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it did not produce a crop.
8 Other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.
9 Then he said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 When he was alone, those near him with the twelve asked him about the parable.
11 He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, all things are spoken in parables,
12 so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn and their sins be forgiven them.’”
13 Then he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
14 The sower sows the word.
15 These are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy;
17 But they have no root in themselves, and endure only for a while. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.
18 These are the ones sown among thorns: they hear the word,
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
20 But these are the ones sown on good soil: they hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.
Nothing hidden that will not be revealed
21 He also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a lampstand?
22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.
23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
24 He also said to them, “Consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more will be added to you who listen.
25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
Parable of the growth of the seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.
29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 He also said, “What shall we compare the kingdom of God to, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;
32 yet when sown, it grows up and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with large branches, so that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.”
Jesus' use of parables
33Con muchas parábolas como estas les hablaba la palabra, conforme a lo que podían oír.
34Y sin parábolas no les hablaba; aunque a sus discípulos en particular les declaraba todo.
Jesus calms the storm
35 That day, when evening came, he said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”
36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were also with him.
37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.
38 Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He asked them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were filled with awe and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Mark Chapter 5
The Gadarene demoniac
1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gadarenes.
2 As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs to meet him.
3 This man lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him, not even with chains.
4 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he had broken the chains to pieces and smashed the shackles to pieces, so that no one could subdue him.
5 Night and day among the tombs and in the mountains he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt before him.
7 Calling out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God not to torment me!”
8 For Jesus had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.
11 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the nearby hillside.
12 And all the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter them.”
13 And he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd numbered about two thousand; and the rushing headlong into the sea was hurled down the steep bank into the sea and drowned.
14 And those tending the pigs fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside. And people went out to see what had happened.
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been tormented by the demon, and who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
16 Those who had seen it told them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and about the pigs.
17 Then they began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were amazed.
Jairus' daughter, and the woman who touched Jesus' cloak
21 When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea.
22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw him, he fell at his feet
23 and begged him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.”
24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed and pressed around him.
25 Now a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years,
26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse,
27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.
28 For she said, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30 Then Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32 But he kept looking around to see who had done it.
33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, trembling with fear, and told him the whole truth.
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader, and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher any further?”
36 Overhearing what they said, Jesus told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
38 And he came to the house of the synagogue leader, and saw the commotion and those who were weeping and wailing loudly.
39 And going in, he said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”
40 And they laughed at him. But he, putting them all out, took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.
41 And taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
42 And immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years old. And they were greatly astonished.
43 But he strictly charged them that no one should know it, and told them to give her something to eat.
Mark Chapter 6
Jesus in Nazareth
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What kind of wisdom is this that has been given him? What miracles are performed by his hands?
3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives, and in his own home.”
5 He could not perform any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then he went around teaching from village to village.
Mission of the twelve disciples
7 Then he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no money in their belts—
9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place.
11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent.
13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Death of John the Baptist
14 King Herod heard about Jesus, for his name had become well known. He said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet, or one of the prophets.”
16 When Herod heard this, he said, “This is John, whom I beheaded; he has risen from the dead.”
17 For Herod himself had sent for John and arrested him, and had him bound and put in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.
18 For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 But Herodias watched him closely and wanted to kill him, but she could not.
20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
21 But when an opportune day came, on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, commanders, and the leading men of Galilee,
22 the daughter of Herodias came in and danced and pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything 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 my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 So she rushed in to the king and asked, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oath and his guests, he did not want to refuse her.
27 So he immediately sent an officer with the guard and ordered that John’s head be brought in.
28 The guard came, beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When his disciples heard this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Feeding the five thousand
30 Then the apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.
31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
32 So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves.
33 But many saw them going and recognized him, and many ran there on foot from the towns and got there ahead of them and joined him.
34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was nearly late, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and it’s already very late.
36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves some bread, because they have nothing to eat.”
37 But he replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Shall we go and buy bread for two hundred denarii and give it to them to eat?”
38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.”
39 Then he directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.
40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.
41 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them and broke the loaves 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 satisfied.
43 And they picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces and of the fish that were left over.
44 And those who ate were five thousand men.
Jesus walks on the sea
45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.
46 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
48 Seeing them straining at the oars because the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the lake. He intended to pass by them, but
49 when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost and cried out,
50 because they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed.
52 For they had not yet understood about the loaves, because their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and stood on the shore.
54 As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized him.
55 They ran throughout the surrounding region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
56 Wherever he went—into villages, towns, or the countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his garment, and all who touched it were healed.
Mark Chapter 7
That which contaminates man
1 Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus.
2 They saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled hands, that is, unwashed hands, and they condemned them.
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands thoroughly, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions they observe, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with defiled hands?”
6 He answered them, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”
7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions, such as the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other similar practices.
9 He also said to them, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
11 But you say that if anyone declares to their father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might otherwise have received from us is Corban’ (that is, a gift dedicated to God),
12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.
13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”
14 Then he called the whole crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:
15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.
16 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”
17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.
18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them?
19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on to say that what comes out of a person is what defiles them.
21For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,
22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.
23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.
The faith of the Syrophoenician woman
24 Leaving there, he went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice.
25 For a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, when she heard about him, came and fell at his feet.
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
27 But he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
28 She answered, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then he said to her, “For this saying, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30 When she arrived home, she found the demon gone, and her daughter was lying in bed.
Jesus heals a deaf
31 Leaving the region of Tyre, he went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, passing through the region of the Decapolis.
32 Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and mute, and they begged him to place his hand on him.
33 Taking him aside from the crowd, he put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue.
34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
35 Immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.
36 Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it.
37 People were utterly amazed and said, “He has done everything well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
Mark Chapter 8
Feeding the four thousand
1 In those days, when there was a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said,
2 “ I have compassion for the crowd; they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from a great distance.”
4 His disciples answered, “Where can anyone get enough bread to feed these people here in the wilderness?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Seven,” they replied.
6 He directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so.
7 They also had a few small fish, and after giving thanks, he told the disciples to distribute them also.
8 The people ate and were satisfied. They gathered up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
9 Those who ate numbered about four thousand, and he dismissed them.
10 Immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
The demand for a signal
11 Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding a sign from heaven to test him.
12 Groaning in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
13 Leaving them, he got back into the boat and crossed to the other side.
The yeast of the Pharisees
14 They had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
15 So he commanded them, saying, “Take heed and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16 And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.”
17 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not understand or comprehend? Are your hearts still hardened?
18 Having eyes, do you not see, and having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?
19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you gather?” They said, “Twelve.”
20 And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces did you gather?” They said, “Seven.”
21 And he said to them, “How is it that you still do not understand?”
A blind man healed in Bethsaida
22 Then he came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him.
23 Taking the blind man by the hand, he led him outside the village. After spitting on the man’s eyes and putting his hands on him, Jesus asked him if he saw anything.
24 The man looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.”
25 Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. His sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly, even from a distance.
26 Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village or tell anyone in the village.”
Peter's Confession
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus announces his death
31 He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke this plainly. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
34 Calling the crowd to him along with his disciples, he said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.
36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
38 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Mark Chapter 9
1 He also said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.”
The Transfiguration
2 Six days later, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them.
3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.
4 Just then Elijah appeared to them, along with Moses, who were talking with Jesus.
5 Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
6 (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)
7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
8 Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus alone.
9 As they were coming down the mountain, he instructed them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
10 And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this resurrection from the dead meant.
11 And they asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12 He answered them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and he will restore all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?
13 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, just as it is written of him.”
Jesus heals a demon-possessed boy
14 When he came to the disciples, he saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.
15 Immediately all the people, seeing him, were amazed, and running to him, greeted him.
16 He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 One of the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who has a mute spirit.
18 Wherever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He replied, “O faithless generation, how long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me.”
20 So they brought him to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “From childhood.
22 It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again!”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead.”
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 When he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 And he said unto them, This kind can come out by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
Jesus announces his death again
30 Leaving that place, they traveled through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know it.
31 For he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and after he is killed, on the third day he will rise again.”
32 But they did not understand this saying, and they were afraid to ask him.
Who is the oldest?
33 He came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?”
34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
35 Sitting down, he called the twelve disciples and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”
36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them,
37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
He who is not against us is for us.
38 John answered him, “Master, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not one of us.”
39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me,
40 for whoever is not against us is for us.
41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose their reward.”
Opportunities to fall
42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, to the unquenchable fire,
44 where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell, into the unquenchable fire,
46 where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
48 where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
49 For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.
Mark Chapter 10
Jesus teaches about divorce
1 Leaving there, he went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Again crowds of people gathered around him, and he taught them, as was his custom.
2 Some Pharisees came to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
3 He answered, “What did Moses command you?”
4 They replied, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
5 Jesus answered, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
6 But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
8 and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked him about this matter.
11 He replied, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”
Jesus blesses the children
13 People were bringing children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.
14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
The rich young man
17 As Jesus was starting out on his journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him. “Good Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good—except God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.
20 “Teacher,” the man declared, “all these I have kept since my youth.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered again, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 They were even more amazed, saying to one another, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for me and the gospel
30 who will not receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions— and in the age to come, eternal life.
31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Jesus announces his death again
32 They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again he took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him:
33 “ We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,
34 who will mock him, spit on him, flog him, and kill him. On the third day he will be raised to life.”
Petition of James and John
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 He said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 They said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and the other at your left, in your glory.”
38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
39 They said to him, “We are able.” Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
40 but to sit at my right and left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 When the ten heard this, they began to be indignant with James and John.
42 But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Blind Bartimaeus receives his sight
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside.
47 When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.”
50 Throwing aside his cloak, he got up and came to Jesus.
51 Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
52 Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Mark Chapter 11
The triumphal entry into Jerusalem
1 As they approached Jerusalem, near Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples,
2 telling them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.’”
4 They went and found the colt tied outside at the door, at the corner of the road, and they untied it.
5 Some people standing there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
6 They answered as Jesus had directed them, and the people let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it.
8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple courts. After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.
Curse of the barren fig tree
12 The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.
13 Seeing a fig tree in the distance with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.
14 Then Jesus said to the fig tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say this.
Purification of the temple
15 So they came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered the temple and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves,
16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
17 And he was teaching them, saying, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”
18 The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because all the people were amazed at his teaching.
19 When evening came, Jesus left the city.
The cursed fig tree withers away
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
24 After he drove the man out, he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
The authority of Jesus
27 Then they returned to Jerusalem. As Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders came to him.
28 They asked, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”
29 Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things.
30 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me.”
31 They discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’
32 But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—” But they were afraid of the people, because everyone held John to be a true prophet.
33 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.” “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Mark Chapter 12
The wicked farmers
1 Then Jesus began to tell them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he rented it to some tenants and went away on a journey.
2 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.
3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.
4 Again he sent another servant, but they stoned him, struck him on the head, and sent him away in disgrace.
5 Again he sent still another, and they killed him. And many others they sent, beating some and killing others.
6 Finally, having one more son, whom he loved, he sent him also to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’”
8 So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.
9 What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.
10 Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
11 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
12 They tried to arrest him, because they knew he was speaking this parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd, so they left him and went away.
The issue of taxation
13 And they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to him to trap him in his words.
14 When they came, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not swayed by others, for you do not regard appearances but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
15 But he, perceiving their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.”
16 They brought him one, and he said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
17 Then Jesus answered them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
The question about the resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him,
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.
20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife and died without leaving any children.
21 The second one married her, and he also died without leaving any children. The third one did the same.
22 In the same way, all seven died without leaving any children, and finally the woman died too.
23 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since all seven had her?”
24 Jesus answered, “Are you not mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels in heaven.”
26 But concerning the raising of the dead, have you not read in the book of Moses, how God spoke to him at the burning bush, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are greatly mistaken.
The great commandment
28 One of the scribes, who had heard them arguing and knew that Jesus had answered them well, came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 The scribe said to him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken correctly, for God is one and there is no other besides him.
33 And to love him with all your heart and with all your understanding and with all your soul and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose son is Christ?
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36 For David himself declared by the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. How then can he be his son?” And a large crowd of people listened to him with delight.
Jesus accuses the scribes
38 And in his teaching he said to them, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and love greetings in the marketplaces,
39 and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets,
40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
The widow's offering
41 Jesus sat opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Mark Chapter 13
Jesus predicts the destruction of the temple
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these stones and these buildings!”
2 Jesus answered, “Do you see all these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
Signs Before the End
3 And he sat down on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. And Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,
4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things are about to be fulfilled?”
5 Jesus answered them, “See that no one deceives you.
6 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled, for this must happen, but the end is not yet.
8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and disturbances. These are the beginning of birth pains.
9 But be on your guard; for they will deliver you up to the councils, and in the synagogues they will flog you, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them.”
10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations.
11 But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.
13 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14 “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing where it ought not to be—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
15 Let no one who is on the housetop go down into the house or take anything out of it.
16 And let the one who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak.
17 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days!
18 Pray that your flight may not be in winter.
19 For in those days there will be tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
20 And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect whom he chose, he shortened those days.
21 Then if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Christ!” or, “There he is!” do not believe it.
22 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
23 But be on your guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
The coming of the Son of Man
24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27 And then he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
28 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
34 It’s like a man going on a journey: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the doorkeeper to keep watch.
35 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!
Mark Chapter 14
The plot to arrest Jesus
1 Two days later it was Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread; and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for some way to arrest him by stealth and kill him.
2 But they said, “Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.”
Jesus is anointed in Bethany
3 While he was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were indignant among themselves and said, “Why this waste of perfume?
5 It could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they grumbled against her.
6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.
7 You will always have the poor with you, and you can help them whenever you want. But you will not always have me.
8 She has done what she could. She has anointed my body beforehand for burial.
9 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Judas offers to betray Jesus
10 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray him.
11 When they heard this, they were delighted and promised to give him money. So Judas looked for an opportunity to betray him.
Institution of the Lord's Supper
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare the Passover meal for you?”
13 He sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him,
14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
15 He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16 So his disciples went into the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
17 When evening came, Jesus and the Twelve arrived.
18 As they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you—one who is eating with me—will betray me.”
19 Then they began to be grieved, and one after another asked him, “Surely you don’t mean me?”
20 He answered, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips his hand into the dish with me.
21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “Take; this is my body.”
23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
25 Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus foretells Peter's denial
26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
27 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”
29 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
30 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted all the more, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same.
Jesus prays in Gethsemane
32 They came to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
33 He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
34 He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch.”
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him.
36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
37 Then he came and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch for one hour?”
38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
39 Again he went away and prayed, saying the same words.
40 When he returned, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy with sleep, and they did not know what to answer him.
41 He came a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise, let us be going. Here comes my betrayer!”
Arrest of Jesus
43 While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.
44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.”
45 When he came, he went up to Jesus at once and said, “Rabbi, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
46 Then they seized him and arrested him.
47 But one of those standing there drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
48 Jesus answered them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to arrest me?
49 Every day I was with you teaching in the temple, and you did not arrest me; but this happened so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.”
50 Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.
The young man who fled
51 But a certain young man was following him, his body covered with a linen cloth; and they seized him;
52 but he, leaving the linen cloth behind, fled naked.
Jesus before the council
53 So they brought Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and scribes assembled.
54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest, where he sat with the officers, warming himself by the fire.
55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any.
56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimonies did not agree.
57 Then some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying,
58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.’”
59 But even then their testimony did not agree.
60 Then the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you nothing to say? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?”
61 But he remained silent and gave no answer. The high priest asked him again, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”
62 Jesus answered, “I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses?
64 You have heard the blasphemy. What is your opinion?” And they all condemned him, declaring him worthy of death.
65 Some began to spit on him; others covered his face; some struck him with their fists; and others said to him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck him with their fists.
Peter denies Jesus
66 Now Peter was below in the courtyard, and one of the high priest’s servant girls came by.
67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I don’t know him, nor do I understand what you’re talking about.” And he went out to the gateway, and a rooster crowed.
69 And when the servant girl saw him again, she began to say to those who stood there, “This man is one of them.”
70 But he denied it again. A little later, those who stood there said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and your speech is like theirs.”
71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I don’t know this man you are talking about!”
72 And the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the words Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And when he thought of this, he wept.
Mark Chapter 15
Jesus before Pilate
1 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, and the whole council held a consultation. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “You say so.”
3 The chief priests accused him of many things.
4 Again Pilate asked him, “Have you nothing to say? See how many charges they are bringing against you.”
5 But Jesus made no reply, so Pilate was amazed.
Jesus sentenced to death
6 Now at the festival he used to release to them a prisoner, anyone they asked for.
7 And there was one called Barabbas, who had been imprisoned with his fellow insurrectionists, who had committed murder in the insurrection.
8 And the crowd came and began to ask him to do to them as he had always done.
9 And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”
10 For he knew that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over.
11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release to them Barabbas rather.
12 And Pilate answered them again, “What then do you want me to do with him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him!”
14 Pilate said to them, “Why, what crime has he committed?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!”
15 Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after having Jesus flogged, handed him over to be crucified.
16 Then the soldiers led him away inside the courtyard (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole cohort.
17 They dressed him in purple and, after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him.
18 They began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
19 They struck him on the head with a reed and spat on him, and kneeling down, they paid homage to him.
20 After they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to be crucified.
Crucifixion and death of Jesus
21 They compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross.
22 They brought him to a place called Golgotha (which means “The Place of the Skull”).
23 They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.
24 When they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots to see what each would get.
25 It was the third hour when they crucified him.
26 The written inscription of the charge against him read: “The King of the Jews.”
27 They crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and the other on his left.
28 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! You who destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days,
30 Save yourself and come down from the cross!
31 In the same way the chief priests and the scribes mocked him, saying to one another, “He saved others; he cannot save himself!
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon.
34 At three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
35 When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling for Elijah.”
36 One of them ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, “Wait, let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
39 When the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that he had died in this way, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 There were also some women watching from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome,
41 who, when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered to him; and many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem.
Jesus is buried
42 When evening came, since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath),
43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.
44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had been dead for some time.
45 When the centurion informed him, he released the body to Joseph,
46 who bought a linen cloth, took Jesus down, wrapped him in the cloth, and laid him in a tomb cut out of rock. He rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.
47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
The resurrection
The resurrection
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go and anoint Jesus’ body.
2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they came to the tomb.
3 They were asking each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Do not be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
7 But go, tell his disciples, especially Peter, that he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
8 And they went away fleeing from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene
9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast out seven demons.
10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.
Jesus appears to two of his disciples
12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country.
13 They went back and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.
Jesus commissions the apostles
14 Later Jesus appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Ascension
19 And the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and he sat at the right hand of God.
20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. Amen.