Mark

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You."

³"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight."'

⁴John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

⁵Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.

⁶Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.

⁸I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

⁹It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

¹⁰And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.

¹¹Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

¹²Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.

¹³And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

¹⁴Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,

¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

¹⁶And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁷Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."

¹⁸They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

¹⁹When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.

²⁰And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.

²¹Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.

²²And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

²³Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out,

²⁴saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"

²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"

²⁶And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.

²⁷Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."

²⁸And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

²⁹Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

³⁰But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.

³¹So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her. And she served them.

³²At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.

³³And the whole city was gathered together at the door.

³⁴Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.

³⁵Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

³⁶And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.

³⁷When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."

³⁸But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."

³⁹And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

⁴⁰Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."

⁴¹Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."

⁴²As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

⁴³And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once,

⁴⁴and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

⁴⁵However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

2And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.

²Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them.

³Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.

⁴And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.

⁵When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."

⁶And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,

⁷"Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

⁸But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?

⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, "Arise, take up your bed and walk'?

¹⁰But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic,

¹¹"I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."

¹²Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

¹³Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.

¹⁴As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him.

¹⁵Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.

¹⁶And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹⁷When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

¹⁸The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting. Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁹And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.

²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.

²¹No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.

²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

²³Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain.

²⁴And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"

²⁵But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:

²⁶how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"

²⁷And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

²⁸Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."

3And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.

²So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.

³And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."

⁴Then 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 kept silent.

⁵And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.

⁶Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

⁷But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea

⁸and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.

⁹So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.

¹⁰For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.

¹¹And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."

¹²But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

¹³And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.

¹⁴Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach,

¹⁵and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:

¹⁶Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter;

¹⁷James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";

¹⁸Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite;

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.

²⁰Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.

²¹But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."

²²And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."

²³So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan?

²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.

²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.

²⁷No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.

²⁸"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter;

²⁹but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"--

³⁰because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.

³²And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."

³³But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"

³⁴And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!

³⁵For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

4And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.

²Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

³"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.

⁴And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.

⁵Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.

⁶But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.

⁷And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

⁸But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

⁹And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

¹⁰But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.

¹¹And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,

¹²so 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."'

¹³And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the word.

¹⁵And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

¹⁶These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;

¹⁷and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.

¹⁸Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,

¹⁹and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

²¹Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?

²²For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

²⁴Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.

²⁵For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

²⁶And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground,

²⁷and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.

²⁸For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.

²⁹But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

³⁰Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

³¹It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth;

³²but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."

³³And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.

³⁴But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.

³⁵On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."

³⁶Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him.

³⁷And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.

³⁸But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

³⁹Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?"

⁴¹And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

5Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.

²And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

³who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,

⁴because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.

⁵And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.

⁷And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

⁸For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!"

⁹Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many."

¹⁰Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

¹¹Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.

¹²So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."

¹³And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

¹⁴So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened.

¹⁵Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

¹⁶And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.

¹⁷Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

¹⁸And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.

¹⁹However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you."

²⁰And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

²¹Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.

²²And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet

²³and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."

²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

²⁵Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,

²⁶and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.

²⁷When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.

²⁸For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."

²⁹Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

³⁰And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"

³¹But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, "Who touched Me?"'

³²And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.

³³But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.

³⁴And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."

³⁵While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"

³⁶As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."

³⁷And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

³⁸Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.

³⁹When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping."

⁴⁰And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.

⁴¹Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."

⁴²Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

⁴³But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

6Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.

²And 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 wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!

³Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him.

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

⁵Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

⁶And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

⁷And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

⁸He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts--

⁹but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.

¹⁰Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.

¹¹And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"

¹²So they went out and preached that people should repent.

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

¹⁴Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."

¹⁵Others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."

¹⁶But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.

¹⁸Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;

²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

²¹Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.

²²And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."

²³He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

²⁴So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"

²⁵Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.

²⁷Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,

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

²⁹When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

³⁰Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.

³¹And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

³²So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.

³³But the multitudes saw them departing, and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities. They arrived before them and came together to Him.

³⁴And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.

³⁶Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat."

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

³⁸But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."

³⁹Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.

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

⁴²So they all ate and were filled.

⁴³And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.

⁴⁴Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

⁴⁵Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.

⁴⁶And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.

⁴⁸Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.

⁴⁹And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out;

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid."

⁵¹Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.

⁵²For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.

⁵⁴And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him,

⁵⁵ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.

⁵⁶Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.

7Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.

²Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.

³For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.

⁴When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.

⁵Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"

⁶He answered and 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.

⁷And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

⁸For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men --the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."

⁹He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

¹⁰For Moses said, "Honor your father and your mother'; and, "He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'

¹¹But you say, "If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban"--' (that is, a gift to God),

¹²then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother,

¹³making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."

¹⁴When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:

¹⁵There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.

¹⁶If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

¹⁷When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.

¹⁸So He said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him,

¹⁹because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"

²⁰And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

²¹For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

²²thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.

²³All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

²⁴From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.

²⁵For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.

²⁶The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."

²⁸And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."

²⁹Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."

³⁰And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

³¹Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.

³²Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.

³³And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.

³⁴Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

³⁵Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.

³⁶Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.

³⁷And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

8In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them,

²"I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.

³And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."

⁴Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"

⁵He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven."

⁶So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.

⁷They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.

⁸So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.

⁹Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away,

¹⁰immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.

¹²But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

¹³And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.

¹⁵Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."

¹⁶And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."

¹⁷But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened?

¹⁸Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?" They said to Him, "Twelve."

²⁰"Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?" And they said, "Seven."

²¹So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"

²²Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.

²³So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.

²⁴And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."

²⁵Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.

²⁶Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

²⁷Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"

²⁸So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."

²⁹He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."

³⁰Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

³¹And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

³²He spoke this word openly. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.

³³But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

³⁴When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

³⁵For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

³⁶For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

³⁷Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

³⁸For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

9And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

²Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

³His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

⁴And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.

⁵Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--

⁶because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.

⁷And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!"