The Gospel According to Mark

• Who Wrote: The Disciple Mark
• Where Written: Rome
• When Written: c. 60-65 C.E.

CHAPTER 1

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

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

² As it is written in Isaiah the prophet;[2]

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
    who will prepare your way,[3]

³ the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
    ‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
    make his paths straight.’”

⁴ John came, baptizing in the wilderness proclaiming a baptism[4] of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ And all the territory of Judea and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. ⁶ Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and he was eating locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And he was preaching, saying, “the One stronger than I is coming after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”[5]

The Baptism of Jesus

⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And immediately on coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being parted and, like a dove, the Spirit coming down upon him; ¹¹ and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are my Son, the beloved; I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

¹² And immediately the Spirit impelled him to go into the wilderness. ¹³ And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins Preaching in Galilee

¹⁴ Now after John had been handed over, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near; repent[6] and believe in the gospel.”

First Disciples Called

¹⁶ As he was going along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ And at once[7] they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and went away after him.

Unclean Spirit Expelled

²¹ And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. ²² And they were astounded[8] at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying “What have you to do with us,[9] Jesus the Nazarene?[10] Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And having convulsed him, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. ²⁷ And they were all astonished,[11] so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ So the report about him spread at once in all directions throughout the entire region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many in Capernaum

²⁹ And at once after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying down sick with a fever, and they at once told him about her. ³¹ And he came to her, he took her by the hand and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began ministering to them.

³² When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ And the whole city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ And he cured many who were ill with various sicknesses, and he expelled many demons, but he would not let the demons speak, because they knew him.[12]

Praying In a Lonely Place

³⁵ Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up and went outside and left for an isolated place, and there he was praying. ³⁶ And Simon and those who were with him searched for him; ³⁷ and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” ³⁸ He said to them: “Let us go somewhere else, into the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also, for this is why I have come.” ³⁹ And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

A Leper Healed

⁴⁰ And a leper[13] came to him, pleading with him even falling on knees, saying to him, “If you just want to, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ At that he was moved with pity, and he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I want to! Be made clean.” ⁴² And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ Then he gave him strict orders and at once sent him away, ⁴⁴ and he said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.” ⁴⁵ But after going away, the man started to proclaim it a great deal and to spread the account freely, so that he was no longer able to enter openly into a city, but he stayed outside in isolated places, and they were coming to him from all directions.

CHAPTER 2

The Paralytic Healed

2 And after some days he again entered into Capernaum, and the word spread that he was at home. ² And many had gathered, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them. ³ And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was, and when they had dug an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why is this man talking this way? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins except one, God?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up 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 say to you, get up, pick up your mat, and go to your home.” ¹² He got up and immediately picked up his mat and walked out in front of them all. So they were all astonished, and they glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”

¹³ And he went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them.

Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)

¹⁴ And as he was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he rose and followed him.

¹⁵ And it happened that he was reclining at the table[14] in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners[15] were reclining at the table[16] with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many of them who were following him. ¹⁶ But when the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ¹⁷ On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “Those who are strong do not need a physician, but those who are ill. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Question about Fasting

¹⁸ And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ So Jesus said to them, “While the bridegroom[17] is with them, the sons of the bridechamber[18] have no reason to fast, do they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

²¹ Nobody sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old outer garment. If he does, the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear becomes worse. ²² No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”

Question about the Sabbath

²³ And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while plucking off the heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ But he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and the men with him were hungry; ²⁶ how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the loaves of presentation, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?” ²⁷ Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the Sabbath. ²⁸ So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

CHAPTER 3

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

3 And again he entered into the synagogue, and a man with a withered[19] hand was there. ² And they were watching him closely to see whether he would cure the man on the Sabbath, in order to accuse him. ³ And he said to the man with the withered hand: “Get up and come to the middle.”[20] ⁴ And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a soul or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. ⁶ The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Great Multitude on the Shore

⁷ But Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude followed, from Galilee and Judea, ⁸ and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and from across the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude came to him when they heard about the many things he was doing. ⁹ And he told his disciples that a small boat should stand ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press in on him; ¹⁰ for he had healed many, so that all who had serious illnesses were crowding around him to touch him. ¹¹ Even the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and cry out and say: “You are the Son of God!” ¹² And many times he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

The Choosing of the Twelve

¹³ And he went up on the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted, and they came to him. ¹⁴ And he appointed twelve, [21][whom he also named apostles],[22] so that they would be with him and so that he could send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to cast out the demons. ¹⁶ And he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); ¹⁷ and James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (and he gave to them the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”); ¹⁸ and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean;[23] ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

²⁰ And he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they were not even able to eat a meal. ²¹ And when his relatives heard about it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying: “He is out of his mind.” ²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²³ And he called them to himself and was speaking 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 will not be able to stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

²⁸ “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies[24] they utter; ²⁹ but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin”— ³⁰ because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

The Mother and Brothers of Jesus

³¹ And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” ³³ And he answered them and said, “Who are my mother or my brothers?” ³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

CHAPTER 4

Parable of the Sower and Soils

4 And again he began teaching beside the sea, and a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and sat on the sea, and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. ² And he began to teach them many things in parables, and was saying to them in his teaching, ³ “Listen! look, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ as he was sowing, some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them, and they yielded no fruit. ⁸ Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded fruit and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” ⁹ And he was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ Now when he was alone, those around him with the twelve began questioning him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the mystery[25] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹³ And 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 And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. ¹⁶ And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they are stumbled.[26] ¹⁸ And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of the world,[27] and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ And those are the ones sown on the good soil, who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Light under a Bushel

²¹ And he said to them, “A lamp is not brought out to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought out to be put on a lampstand? ²² For nothing is hidden except to be exposed; nor is anything hidden but that it would come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ And he was saying to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ²⁵ For whoever has will have more given to him, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ And he was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed on the ground; ²⁷ and he sleeps at night and rises up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows; how, he does not know. ²⁸ The ground produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But as soon as the crop permits it, he sends forth the sickle, because the harvesttime has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or by what parable can we present it? ³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the sky can make nests in its shade.”

The Use of Parables

³³ With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; ³⁴ and he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

The Calming of a Storm

³⁵ On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” ³⁶ And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was; and other boats were with him. ³⁷ And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. ³⁸ And he was in the stern sleeping on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” ³⁹ And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰ And he said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you not yet have faith?” ⁴¹ And they were filled with great fear[28] and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

CHAPTER 5

The Healing of the Gerasene Demoniac

5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. ² And immediately after Jesus got out of the boat, a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him, ³ and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, not even with a chain; ⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ And continually, night and day, he was crying out in the tombs and in the mountains and slashing himself with stones. ⁶ And having seen Jesus from afar, he ran up and bowed down[29] before him; ⁷ And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me,[30] Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me.” ⁸ For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” ⁹ And he was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to him, “My name is Legion;[31] for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he was imploring him earnestly not to send them out of the country. ¹¹ Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the mountain. ¹² And they implored him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” ¹³ Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

Swine Owners Disbelief

¹⁴ And their herdsmen fled and reported it in the town and in the countryside, and they came to see what it was that had happened. ¹⁵ And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one having had the Legion, sitting clothed and in his right mind, and they grew fearful. ¹⁶ And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the swine. ¹⁷ And they began to beg him to depart from their region. ¹⁸ As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him that he might be with him. ¹⁹ And he did not allow him, but said to him, “Go to your home to your people and tell them all the things the Lord has done for you, and that he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis all the things Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.

Jairus’ Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus’ Garment

²¹ And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him; and so he was beside the seashore. ²² And one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet ²³ and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” ²⁴ And he went off with him; and a large crowd was following him and pressing in on him.

²⁵ And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, ²⁶ and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. ²⁷ When she heard the reports about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his outer garment, ²⁸ For she was saying, “If I touch even his outer garments, I will be made well.” ²⁹ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her sickness. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus realized in himself that power had gone out of him, and he turned around in the crowd and asked: “Who touched my outer garments?” ³¹ But his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you, and you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² And he was looking around to see the one who had done this. ³³ But the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you;[32] go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

³⁵ While he was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” ³⁶ But Jesus overhearing their words, said to the synagogue official: “stop being afraid, only trust.”[33] ³⁷ And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the synagogue official; and he saw a commotion, and people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹ And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” ⁴⁰ And they began laughing at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years old), and immediately they were amazed and completely astounded. ⁴³ And he strictly charged them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

CHAPTER 6

The Rejection of Jesus at Nazareth

6 And he went out from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ² And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to this man, and powerful works such as these performed by his hands? ³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴ And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵ And he could do no powerful work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And he marveled because of their unbelief.

And he went about among the villages teaching.

The Mission of the Twelve

⁷ And he summoned the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; ⁸ and he gave them orders to carry nothing for the trip except a staff, no bread, no traveler’s bag,[34] no money in their belts, ⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. ¹⁰ And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off that is beneath your feet for a testimony against them.” ¹² And they went out and proclaimed that men[35] should repent. ¹³ And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

The Death of John the Baptist

¹⁴ And King Herod heard of this, for the name of Jesus became well known, and people were saying, “John, the one who baptizes, has been raised up from the dead, and that is why the powerful works are operating in him.” ¹⁵ But others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the prophets.”[36] ¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!”

¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent out and arrested John and had bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. ¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, but she could not; ²⁰ for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him. ²¹ A convenient day came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and military commanders[37] and the leading men of Galilee; ²² and when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” ²³ And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the baptizer.” ²⁵ And she came in immediately 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.” ²⁶ And although he was deeply grieved, the king, because of his oaths and dinner guests, did not want to refuse her. ²⁷ Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, ²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all the things they had done and taught. ³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to an isolated place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³² And they went away in the boat to an isolated place by themselves.

³³ But many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ By now the hour had grown late, and his disciples came up to him and were saying, “This place is isolated, and the hour is already late; ³⁶ send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷ But he answered 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 it to them to eat?” ³⁸ And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹ And he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰ And they reclined in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹ Taking now the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves up and began giving them to the disciples to place them before the people, and he divided up the two fish among them all. ⁴² And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and also of the fish. ⁴⁴ And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

⁴⁵ Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he himself dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, he went away to the mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ And when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw them being battered as they rowed, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea, and he was wanting to pass by them. ⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were very much amazed, ⁵² for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.[38]

The Healing of the Sick in Gennesaret

⁵³ When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and they were anchored there. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him, ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

CHAPTER 7

The Tradition of the Elders

7 Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, ² and they saw some of his disciples eat their meal with defiled hands, that is, unwashed ones.[39] ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually,[40] clinging to the tradition of the men of former times; ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they sprinkle themselves.[41] And there are many other traditions that they have received and cling to, such as baptisms[42] of cups, pitchers, and copper vessels.) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?” ⁶ “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commands of men.’

⁸ Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”

⁹ He was also saying to them, “You skillfully disregard the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, is to be put to death’; ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or to his mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received from me is corban” (that is, a gift to God), ¹² you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; ¹³ thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

Defilement Comes From the Heart of Man

¹⁴ And calling the crowd to him again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand the meaning: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a man that enters into him can defile him; but the things that come out of a man are the things that defile him.” ¹⁶ ——[43]

¹⁷ And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ So he said to them, “Are you also without understanding? Are you not aware that nothing from outside that enters into a man can defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters, not into his heart, but into his stomach, and it passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he was saying, “That which comes out of a man is what defiles him. ²¹ For from inside, out of the heart of men, come injurious reasonings, sexual immorality,[44] thefts, murders, ²² acts of adultery, greed, acts of wickedness, deceit, sensuality,[45] an envious eye, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these wicked things come from within and defile a man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

²⁴ And he rose up from there and went into the region of Tyre and Sidon. There he entered into a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. ²⁵ But immediately, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell down at his feet. ²⁶ Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by race; and she kept asking him to expel the demon from her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “First let the children be satisfied, for it is not right to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little dogs.”[46] ²⁸ But she answered and said to him, “Yes, Lord, and yet even the little dogs under the table eat of the crumbs of the little children.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰ And having gone to her home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

A Deaf and Dumb Man Healed

³¹ And again he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his hand on him. ³³ And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And looking up to heaven, he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ³⁵ And immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly. ³⁶ And he ordered them not to tell anyone, but the more he would order them, the more they would proclaim it. ³⁷ And they were astounded[47] beyond measure, saying: “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

CHAPTER 8

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

8 In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ² “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes they will give out on the way, and some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “From where will anyone get enough bread in this isolated place to satisfy these people?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven.” ⁶ And he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he said to set these also before them. ⁸ And they ate and were satisfied, and they took up seven large baskets full of leftover broken pieces. ⁹ And there were about four thousand men;[48] and he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

The Demand for a Sign

¹¹ The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. ¹² And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³ And he left them, got into the boat[49] again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod

¹⁴ And they had forgotten to take bread and did not have more than one loaf in the boat with them. ¹⁵ And he was ordering them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” ¹⁶ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been 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 men, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “When I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹ And he was saying to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

The Healing of a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him. ²³ And taking the blind man by the hand, he brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And looking up he said, “I see men, for I see them like trees walking around.” ²⁵ Then he laid his hands on his eyes again; and he saw distinctly, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

²⁷ And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he questioned his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he was questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” ³⁰ And he strictly admonished them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³¹ And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² And he was speaking openly, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in exchange for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

CHAPTER 9

The Transfiguration of Jesus

9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”

² And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them; ³ and his outer garments became glistening, exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth could whiten them. ⁴ And Elijah appeared to them together with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. ⁵ And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,[50] it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. ⁷ And a cloud came, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!” ⁸ And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus alone.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, until the Son of Man rose from the dead. ¹⁰ And they kept the matter to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.[51] ¹¹ And they asked him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” ¹² And he said to them, “Elijah indeed does come first and restores all things. And how is it written of the Son of Man that he should suffer many things and be treated with contempt? ¹³ But I tell you that indeed Elijah has come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”

Demon-Possessed Boy Healed

¹⁴ And when they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. ¹⁵ And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” ¹⁷ And one of the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you because he has a spirit that makes him mute;[52] ¹⁸ And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down and he foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.[53] And I told your disciples that they should cast it out, and they were not able.” ¹⁹ And he answered them and said, “O unbelieving generation! How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!” ²⁰ And they brought him to him. And when he saw him, the spirit at once threw him into convulsions, and falling on the ground, he began to roll around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ And he asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. ²² And it has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us!” ²³ And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for the one who has faith.”[54] ²⁴ Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I have faith! Help me out where I need faith!” ²⁵ Now when Jesus saw that a crowd was running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and enter into him no more!” ²⁶ After crying out and going through many convulsions, it came out, and the boy seemed to be dead, so that most of the people were saying: “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he stood up. ²⁸ And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” ²⁹ And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”

Jesus Again Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³⁰ And from there they went out and passed through Galilee, and he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” ³² But they did not understand the statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

Disciples Argue Over Greatness

³³ And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” ³⁴ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. ³⁵ And he sat down and called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ And he took a child and stood him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one of such young children on the basis of my name receives me also; and whoever receives me receives not me only but also him who sent me.”

Anyone Not Against Us Is for Us

³⁸ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him, because he was not following us.” ³⁹ But Jesus said, “Do not prevent him, for no one who does a powerful work in my name and will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. ⁴⁰ For whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, I tell you truly, he will by no means lose his reward.

Temptations to Sin

⁴² But whoever stumbles one of these little ones who have faith, it would be better for him if a millstone that is turned by a donkey were put around his neck and he were pitched into the sea. ⁴³ “If ever your hand makes you stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than to go off with two hands into Gehenna,[55] the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ ——[56] ⁴⁵ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.[57] ⁴⁶ ——[58] ⁴⁷ And if your eye makes you stumble, throw it out, it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into Gehenna,[59] ⁴⁸ where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

Have Strength In Yourself

⁴⁹ For everyone will be salted with fire. ⁵⁰ Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

CHAPTER 10

Teaching about Marriage and Divorce

10 From there he got up and came to the borders of Judea across the Jordan, and again crowds gathered to him. As he was accustomed to do, he again began teaching them.

² And [Pharisees][60] came up, testing him, began questioning him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. ³ And he answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” ⁵ But Jesus said to them, “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 his mother, ⁸ and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

¹⁰ In the house the disciples began questioning him again about this. ¹¹ And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹² and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses the Children

¹³ And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. ¹⁵ Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will never[61] enter into it.” ¹⁶ And he took them in his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Ruler’s Question

¹⁷ And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ¹⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” ²⁰ And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” ²¹ And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²² But at these words he was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who had many possessions.

Possessions and the Kingdom

²³ And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answered and said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁶ And they were more astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” ²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

²⁸ Peter began to say to him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you.” ²⁹ Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the gospel’s sake, ³⁰ who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. ³¹ But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

³² They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on ahead of them; and they were astonished,[62] and those who followed were afraid. And again, he took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to him, ³³ saying, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

Request from James and John

³⁵ And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶ And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant to us that we may sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” ³⁹ And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. ⁴⁰ But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. ⁴² And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not like this among you, but whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his soul as a ransom for many.”

Blind Bartimaeus Healed

⁴⁶ And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road. ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸ At this many began rebuking him, telling him to be silent, but all the more he kept shouting: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁹ And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” ⁵⁰ And throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹ And Jesus answered him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabboni,[63] that I may regain my sight.” ⁵² And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”[64] And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the road.

CHAPTER 11

The Triumphal Entry

11 Now when they were getting near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, ² and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and as soon as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. ³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” ⁴ And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. ⁵ And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” ⁶ And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go. ⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus, and they put their outer garments on it, and he sat on it. ⁸ Also, many spread their outer garments on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields. ⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “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 And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.

Fig Tree Cursed

¹² And on the next day when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. ¹³ And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ So he said to it: “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.” And his disciples were listening.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who were buying and selling in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves; ¹⁶ and he would not permit anyone to carry any object through the temple. ¹⁷ And he began to teach and was saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.” ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.

Lesson from Withered Fig Tree

¹⁹ And when evening came, they went out of the city.

²⁰ But when they were passing by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree already withered from its roots. ²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” ²² And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, all the things you pray and ask for, have faith that you have received them, and you will have them. ²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your trespasses.”[65] ^26 ——[66]

Jesus’ Authority Challenged

²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they were saying to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” ²⁹ Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. ³⁰ Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.” ³¹ And they began reasoning among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘From men’?” They were afraid of the crowd, because they all looked upon John as he was truly a prophet. ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

CHAPTER 12

Parable of the Vine-growers

12 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower and leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey. ² In due season he sent a slave to the tenant farmers to collect some of the fruits of the vineyard from them. ³ And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ⁴ Again he sent to them another slave, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another, and him they killed, and so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. ⁶ He had one more, a beloved son; he sent him last of all to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ⁷ But those tenant farmers said to one another, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!’ ⁸ And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenant farmers and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this Scripture:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the chief cornerstone;[67]

¹¹ This came about from the Lord,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”[68]

¹² At that they were seeking to seize[69] him, but they feared the crowd, for they knew that he spoke the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

God and Caesar

¹³ And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, in order to catch him in his speech. ¹⁴ And having come, they said to him, “Teacher, we know you are truthful, and you do not care for anybody,[70] for you do not look upon the face of men,[71] but you teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful[72] to pay head tax to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay, or should we not pay?” knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why do you put me to the test? Bring me a denarius to look at.” ¹⁶ They brought one, and he said to them: “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” ¹⁷ Jesus then said, “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar,[73] and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were greatly amazed at him.

Question about the Resurrection

¹⁸ And the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,[74] came and questioned him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.[75] ²⁰ There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. ²¹ And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise; ²² and the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?[76] ²⁷ He is God, not of the dead, but of the living; you are very much mistaken.”

²⁸ And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 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.’[77] ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”[78] ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him; ³³ and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he 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.

³⁵ And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies beneath your feet.”’[79]

³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ and how is he his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him gladly.

³⁸ And in his teaching, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹ and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁰ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

The Poor Widow’s Two Coins

⁴¹ And he sat down with the treasury box in view and began observing how the crowd was dropping copper coins into the treasury box, and many rich people were dropping in many coins. ⁴² And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,[80] of very little value. ⁴³ And he called his disciples to him and said to them: “Truly I say to you that this poor widow put in more than all the others who put into the treasury box; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

CHAPTER 13

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

13 And as he was going out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, behold what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

The Beginning of Woes

³ And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “Watch out that no one leads you astray. ⁶ Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 

Wars, Earthquakes, Famines

⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Gospel to be Preached

⁹ “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. ¹¹ And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will deliver brother over to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by all because of my name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Great Tribulation

¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation[81] standing where it ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; ¹⁵ let the man who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter his house, to take anything out; ¹⁶ and let the man who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it may not happen in the winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. ²⁰ Unless the Lord had cut short the days, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones,[82] whom he chose, he shortened the days.

False Christs and False Prophets

²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Behold, 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, the chosen ones.[83] ²³ But you, watch out; 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 be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then he will send out the angels and gather his[84] chosen ones together from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also, when you see these things happening, know that he is near at the doors. ³⁰ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 

Keep on the Watch

³² But concerning that day or the hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ “Keep looking, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. ³⁴ It is like a man away on a journey who left his house and gave the authority to his slaves, to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to keep on the watch. ³⁵ Keep on the watch, therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether late in the day or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or early in the morning, ³⁶ lest when he comes suddenly, he does not find you sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: Keep on the watch.”

CHAPTER 14

Priests Plot to Kill Jesus

14 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread was two days later; and the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to seize him by cunning and kill him; ² for they were saying: “Not at the festival; perhaps there might be an uproar of the people.

Perfumed Oil Poured on Jesus

³ And while he was at Bethany dining in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil, genuine nard, very expensive; and she broke open the alabaster jar and began pouring it on his head. ⁴ But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfumed oil been wasted? ⁵ For this perfumed oil could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii[85] and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her harshly. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why do you try to make trouble for her? She did a fine deed toward me. ⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them; but you will not always have me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. ⁹ And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Judas Betrays Jesus

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to hand him over[86] to them. ¹¹ When they heard it, they were delighted and promised to give him silver.[87] And he began seeking an opportunity to betray him.

The Last Passover

¹² And on the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And he sent two of his disciples and said to 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 master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ So the disciples went out, and they entered the city and found it just as he said to them, and they prepared for the Passover.

¹⁷ And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you who is eating with me will betray me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to him one by one: “Surely not I?” ²⁰ He said to them, “It is one of the Twelve, the one dipping with me into the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of man is going away, just as it is written about him, but woe to that man through whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”

The Lord’s Supper

²² And while they were eating, he took bread and, having blessed it, he broke it and gave it to them and said, “Take it, this is my body.”[88] ²³ And taking a cup, he offered thanks and gave it to them, and they all drank out of it. ²⁴ And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ²⁵ Truly I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶ After singing praises,[89] they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Peter’s Denial Foretold

²⁷ And Jesus said to them, “You will all be stumbled,[90] for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered about.’ ²⁸ But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” ²⁹ But Peter said to him, “Even if all are stumbled, yet I will not.” ³⁰ At that Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that today, yes, on this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.” ³¹ But he kept insisting, “If I have to die with you, I will by no means disown you.” And they all said the same thing also.

Jesus Prays in Gethsemane

³² And they came to a place named Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ And he took with him Peter and James and John, and he began to feel deeply distressed and to be greatly troubled. ³⁴ And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here and keep on the watch.” ³⁵ And going a little way forward, he fell to the ground and began to pray that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ And he said, “Abba,[91] Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what you will.” ³⁷ And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you not strong enough to stay awake one hour? ³⁸ Keep awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰ And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. ⁴¹ And he came the 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 being delivered[92] into the hands of sinners. ⁴² Get up, let us be going; look, the one giving me over is at hand!”

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

⁴³ Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who were from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. ⁴⁴ Now the one who was betraying him had given them a sign, saying, “The one whom I kiss, he is the one; seize him and lead him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ And having come, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And kissed him. ⁴⁶ And they laid hands on him and seized him. ⁴⁷ But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest and took off his ear. ⁴⁸ And Jesus answered and said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs, as against a robber, to arrest me? ⁴⁹ Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And they all left him and fled.

The Young Man Who Fled

⁵¹ And a certain young man was following him, clothed only in a linen cloth on his naked body; and they seized him, ⁵² but he left behind the linen cloth and fled naked.

Jesus On Trial Before His Accusers At the Sanhedrin

⁵³ And they led Jesus away to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. ⁵⁴ And Peter followed him from a distance, right inside, into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the house servants and warming himself by the fire. ⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they were not finding any. ⁵⁶ Many were giving false witness against him, but their testimonies were not in agreement. ⁵⁷ And certain ones were standing up and bearing false witness against him, saying, ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will throw down this temple that was made with hands, and in three days I will build another not made with hands.’ ⁵⁹ Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. ⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up in their midst and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do you say nothing in reply? What is it these men are testifying against you?” ⁶¹ But he kept silent and made no reply at all. Again, the high priest began to question him and said to him, “Are you the Christ the Son of the Blessed One?” ⁶² Then Jesus said, “I am; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” ⁶³ At this the high priest ripped his garments and said, “What further need do we have of witnesses? ⁶⁴ You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?” And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. ⁶⁵ And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him with their fists, and to say to him “Prophesy!” And the court attendants received him with slaps in the face.

Peter’s Denial of Jesus

⁶⁶ And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, ⁶⁷ and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You too were with the Nazarene, this Jesus.” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying: “Neither do I know him nor do I understand what you are talking about,” and he went outside the gateway[93]. ⁶⁹ And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” ⁷⁰ But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean too.” ⁷¹ But he started to curse and swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak!” ⁷² Immediately a rooster crowed a second time, and Peter recalled what Jesus had said to him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and began to weep.

CHAPTER 15

Jesus Before Pilate

15 Immediately, in the morning, the chief priests with the elders and the scribes, the whole Sanhedrin, held a consultation, and they bound Jesus and led him off and delivered him over to Pilate. ² So Pilate questioned to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” In answer he said, “You yourself say it.” ³ But the chief priests were accusing him of many things. ⁴ Now Pilate questioned him again, saying, “Have you no reply to make? See how many charges they are bringing against you.” ⁵ But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

Jesus Sentenced to Die

⁶ Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they requested. ⁷ And the man named Barabbas was among the rebels in prison who had committed murder in the rebellion. ⁸ So the crowd came up and began to make their request according to what Pilate used to do for them. ⁹ And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that out of envy the chief priests had handed him over. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead. ¹² Again answering, Pilate said to them, “What, then, should I do with the one you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” ¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” ¹⁵ At that Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus scourged,[94] he handed him over to be crucified.

Jesus Is Mocked

¹⁶ The soldiers now led him away into the courtyard, (that is, into the Praetorium),[95] and they called together the whole cohort. ¹⁷ And they dressed him in purple and braided a crown of thorns and put it on him; ¹⁸ and they began to call out to him, “Hail, you King of the Jews! ¹⁹ And they were beating him on the head with a reed and spitting on him, and on their knees bowing to him. ²⁰ After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple and put his outer garments on him. And they led him out to crucify him.

²¹ And they compelled into service a passerby, a certain Simon of Cyrene, coming from the countryside, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

²² So they brought him to the place Golgotha (which is translated “Place of a Skull”). ²³ They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. ²⁵ Now it was the third hour[96] when they crucified him. ²⁶ And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”

²⁷ And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁸ ——[97] ²⁹ And those passing by spoke abusively to him, shaking their heads and saying: “Ha! You who would throw down the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ save yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way also the chief priests, along with the scribes, were mocking him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he is not able to save himself! ³² Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down now from the cross, so that we may see and believe! Even those who were crucified with him were reproaching him.

The Death of Jesus

³³ And when the sixth hour[98] came, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.[99] ³⁴ And at the ninth hour[100] Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁵ And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “See, he is calling Elijah.” ³⁶ And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. ³⁸ And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion, who was standing opposite him, saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”[101]

⁴⁰ There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. ⁴¹ When he was in Galilee, they used to follow him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

The Burial of Jesus

⁴² And when evening had already come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council,[102] who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ And Pilate was surprised that he was already dead, and summoning the centurion, asked him whether he was already dead. ⁴⁵ And when he learned it of the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph. ⁴⁶ And he bought a linen cloth, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. ⁴⁷ Now Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.

CHAPTER 16

The Resurrection of Jesus

16 So when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. ³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. ⁶ And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you seek 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 and Peter, ‘he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.’” ⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

^9-20 ——[103]

[1] The most likely original reading is the shorter reading “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” This is the original reading found in P. Oxy. 5073 [Late 3rd / 4th century] א* 28 cop^saMS Origen. Later scribes expanded the reading to Jesus Christ, Son of God (א² B D L W it syr cop A B D L W) The external documentary supports the shorter reading, “Jesus Christ.” We find a similar expansion in Mark 8:29, going from (σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός) “You are the Christ” (A B C D Origen) to (συ ει ο χριστος, ο υιος του θεου) “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” (א L) and (συ ει ο χριστος, ο υιος του θεου του ζωντος) “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (W f it syr) Because of the strong witnesses and the fact that “Son of God” is a theme throughout Mark, there is a slight chance it could have been original; thus, it is retained in brackets.

[2] Some manuscripts that carry no textual weight have in the prophets; however, the first part of Mark’s quote is actually from Malachi 3:1, the second portion from Isaiah 40:3, which makes it easy to see why some copyist would have altered “Isaiah the prophet.” Comfort suggests that Mark’s attributing all of it to Isaiah may have been because his Roman audience would likely be more familiar with Isaiah. Regardless, Mark does not acknowledge any Deutero-Isaiah.

[3] In fulfillment of Malachi 3:1, John the Baptizer appeared as the messenger who prepared the way for the Father by way of the Son who had been given all authority in heaven and on earth, to get the Jews ready for the coming of Jesus Christ.—Matt. 11:10-11; 28:18-20; Mark 1:1-4; Lu 7:27-28.

[4] John was known as “John the Baptist” or “the baptizer” (Matt. 3:1; Mark 1:4), which inform us that baptism (water immersion) came through John and that his ministry and baptism came from God, as opposed to originating with John himself.

[5] Prior to that time, no one had been baptized with the Holy Spirit.

[6] Repentance: The (μετανοέω metanoeō and μεταμέλομαι metamelomai) means to repent, to change one’s way, repentance. It means that we change our minds about our sinful actions or conduct, being dissatisfied with that personality trait. We feel regret, contrition, or compunction for what we have done or failed to do. We change our way of life because we have changed our view, way of thinking, mindset, attitude, and disposition regarding our sinful behavior. We have a change of heart and mind, abandoning our former way of thinking, feeling, and acting. The result is our becoming a new self, with new behavior, and having a genuine regret over our former ways. No one can testify but our own spirit that we have repented; we may make professions of repentance, and the world may believe we are thoroughly sincere, but our own spirit may tell us that our profession is false. In other words, genuine repentance will bring about results that we know to be true. – Matt. 3:2; 12:41; Mark 1:15; Lu 10:13; 15:10; 17:3; Ac 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; 2 Cor. 12:21; Rev. 2:5-3:19.

[7] At once; Immediately: (εὐθύς euthus) The Greek word euthús, “at once” or “immediately,” especially in the Gospel of Mark, is used to transmit a sense of immediacy and urgency to Christ’s ministry. It is used eleven times in the first chapter alone and forty-two times throughout Mark’s Gospel. The sense of euthús is to act without delay or hesitation, as there is no time left. The Gospel of Mark could be viewed as an action Gospel. – Mark 1:18, 28-30, 43; 5:42; 9:20; 11:3.

[8] Astounded: (ἐκπλήσσω ekplēssō) This one is extremely astounded or amazed, so much so that the person loses their mental self-control, as they are overwhelmed emotionally. – Matt. 7:28; Mark 1:22; 7:37; Lu 2:48; 4:32; 9:43; Ac 13:12.

[9] Lit What is there to us and to you, which is a Hebrew idiom; a revolting question indicating objection. It is found in the Hebrew Scriptures, namely, in Josh. 22:24; Judg. 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 19:22; 1 Ki 17:18; 2 Ki 3:13; 2 Ch. 35:21; Hos. 14:8. The demons are asking in a disgusted tone, ‘What do we have in common with you?’ In the Greek New Testament, it is found in in Matt. 8:29; Mk 1:24; 5:7; Lu 4:34; 8:28; John 2:4.

[10] Or Jesus of Nazareth

[11] Astonished: (θαμβέω thambeō; derivative of thambos) This one is experiencing astonishment, to be astounded, or amazed because of some sudden and unusual event, which can be in a positive or negative sense. – Mark 1:27; 10:32; Lu 4:36; 5:9; Acts 3:10.

[12] That is, they knew Jesus was the Christ.

[13] Leprosy: (צָרַעַת tsaraath; λεπρός lepros) is a disease mainly affecting the skin and nerves that can cause tissue change and, in severe cases, loss of sensation and disfigurement. In Bible times, it could affect homes and clothing as well as humans. It is transmitted following close personal contact and has an incubation period of 1-30 years. – Lev. 13:1-46; Deut. 24:8; 2 Ki 5:3, 6, 7, 27; 2 Ch. 26:19; Matt. 8:2; 10:8; 11:5; 26:6; Mark 1:40; 14:3; Lu 4:27; 7:22; 17:12.

[14] That is, dining in his house

[15] Sinner: (חָטָא chata ἁμαρτωλός hamartōlos) In the Scriptures “sinners” is generally used in a more specific way, that is, referring to those willfully living in sin, practicing sin, or have a reputation of sinning. – Matt. 9:10; Mark 2:15; Luke 5:30; 7:37-39; John 9:16; Rom. 3:7; Gal. 2:15; 1 Tim. 1:15; Heb. 7:26; Jam. 4:8; 1 Pet 4:18; Jude 1:15.

[16] That is, dining with Jesus and his disciples

[17] Bride (Bride of Christ): (νυμφίος numphios) Jesus Christ is presented as the bridegroom for the bride, namely, the Christian congregation, which is his body. – 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; Rev. 19:7; 21:2, 9.

[18] That is, the friends of the bridegroom, groomsmen

[19] That is, paralyzed

[20] Or midst; a position in the middle of others

[21] Scholars have longe felt that “whom also he named apostles” was an interpolation from Luke 6:13. However, this reading cannot be so easily rejected because its documentary support is very strong: א B (C*) Θ f ¹³ 28 cop. In addition, Mark uses the term to describe the twelve as “apostles.” (6:30)

[22] Apostle: (ἀπόστολος apostolos) The basic sense of the word is a “messenger, representative,” or “sent one.” This was a special messenger or envoy of Jesus Christ. In the Greek NT, “apostolos” is used primarily concerning those who were taught directly by Jesus and who were given the authority to speak in his place, especially the twelve disciples that Jesus personally selected. Matthias was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. Paul, a direct choice of the resurrected and ascended Jesus Christ, was also referred to as an apostle. – Matt 10:2; Mark 3:14; Ac 2:37; 14:14; Rom. 1:1; Heb. 3:1.

[23] Cananaean, the: (Καναναῖος Kananaios) A term from Aramaic, meaning ‘Zealot,’ ‘the zealous one,’ ‘enthusiast.’ (Lu 6:15; Ac 1:13) This was a name used to distinguishing the apostle Simon from the apostle Simon Peter. (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18) This name is in no way a geographical reference to Cana or Canaan, who were ones belonging to a Jewish nationalistic party, the Zealots, who were seeking independence from Rome.

[24] Blasphemy: (βλασφημία blasphēmia) This is speaking abusively against another in such a way to harm or injure his or her reputation, ‘profane speech, to revile, to defame, to blaspheme, reviling, denigration, disrespect, slander.’ The term is also used for anyone who willfully and knowingly blasphemed the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, by claiming the powers, attributes, or rights of God, or assigning these to themselves, another, or a thing. (Matt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; Lu 12:10; Ac 12:21-22) This is referred to as the unforgivable sin. This unforgivable sin also applies to any who came to be a Christian, gained an accurate knowledge of the truth, and then deliberately, willfully, and knowingly turned from God’s pure worship by speaking abusively of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the faith, and biblical truth.–Hebrews 10:26-27.

[25] Mystery; Secret: (μυστήριον mustērion) A sacred divine mystery or secret doctrine that lies with God alone, which is withheld from both the angelic body and humans, until the time he determines that it is to be revealed, and to those to whom he chooses to make it known. – Mark 4:11; Rom. 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:1; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51; Eph. 1:9; 6:19; Col. 1:26; 2:2; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:9; Rev. 17:5.

[26] Or fall away

[27] Or age

[28] Lit they feared a great fear

[29] The Greek word denotes an act of reverence.

[30] Lit What is there to us and to you, which is a Hebrew idiom; a revolting question indicating objection. It is found in the Hebrew Scriptures, namely, in Josh. 22:24; Judg. 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 19:22; 1 Ki 17:18; 2 Ki 3:13; 2 Ch. 35:21; Hos. 14:8. The demons are asking in a disgusted tone, ‘What do we have in common with you?’ In the Greek New Testament, it is found in in Matt. 8:29; Mk 1:24; 5:7; Lu 4:34; 8:28; John 2:4.

[31] A Roman legion usually consisted of 6,000 men. Here, thought, it is simply referring to a large number.

[32] That is, made you well

[33] A belief that is so strong that there is complete trust or reliance.

[34] A leather bag used by travelers to carry food and other supplies, or for begging purposes.

[35] That is, means both men and women

[36] Some translations read “like one of the prophets of old” qualifying what prophets were meant because Israel had not had a prophet for several hundred years at this point.

[37] chiliarch: The chiliarch (χιλίαρχος chiliarchos); commander of a thousand soldiers.

[38] That is, dull in understanding

[39] That is, not ceremonially cleansed

[40] That is, wash their hands up to the elbow

[41] “Unless they sprinkle themselves” is the original wording according to the earliest and most trusted manuscripts (א B). Rantisōntai (they sprinkle themselves) was the more difficult reading that the scribes changed to baptisontai (they wash themselves). We can arrive at some sound deductions concerning baptism if we look at the traditions of the Pharisees and other Jews. The Gospel writer Mark said, “When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they sprinkle themselves [ραντισωνται rantisōntai (ῥαντίζω rhantizō; from ῥαίνω rhainō)]; there are many other traditions that they have received and cling to, such as baptisms [βαπτισμός baptismos] of cups and pitchers and copper vessels.” (Mark 7:3, 4) These men self-righteously sprinkled themselves before eating when they came back from the market. Whereas, they baptized, or immersed in water, the different things they used when eating their meals. This verse has nothing to do with Christian baptism. The account here at Mark 7:1-4 has to do with washings of hands and of vessels, not the baptism of people. The Jewish sect the Essenes or from the Pharisees went to extensive efforts to observe tithing and ceremonial cleanness went beyond what that law demanded to show the people just how pious they supposedly were. Jesus just a few verses later would condemn them, saying, “in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commands of men … You skillfully disregard the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” (Mark 7:7, 9) “Unless they sprinkle themselves” is the original wording, as is clear it is, but it has nothing to do with baptismal immersion of persons, while βαπτίζω baptizō is found elsewhere, and baptism of persons by full immersion is what was meant. – Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:12; 19:1-7.

[42] That is, For ceremonial purposes, they baptized, or immersed in water, the cups, pitchers, and copper vessels they used at meals

[43] WH NU א B L Δ* 0274 al lack; A D W Θ f^1,13 33 Maj, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” The scribe clearly added this verse from 4:9 or 4:23, as it is nearly identical, possibly seeking to provide an ending for a short pericope.

[44] Sexual Immorality: (זָנָה zanah; πορνεία porneia) A general term for immoral sexual acts of any kind: such as adultery, prostitution, sexual relations between people not married to each other, homosexuality, and bestiality. – Num. 25:1; Deut. 22:21; Matt. 5:32; 1 Cor. 5:1.

[45] Shameless Conduct, Sensuality, Debauchery, Promiscuity, Licentiousness, Lewdness: (ἀσέλγεια aselgeia) This is one who indulges in sensual pleasure without any regard for morality. This behavior is completely lacking in moral restraint, indulgence in sensual pleasure, driven by aggressive and selfish desires, unchecked by morality, especially in sexual matters. This refers to acts of conduct that are serious sins. It reveals a shameless, condescending arrogance, i.e., disregard or even disdain for authority, laws, and standards. – Mark 7:22; Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 4:19; 1 Pet. 4:3; 2 Pet. 2:2, 7, 18; Jude 4.

[46] Dog; Little Dog: (κύων kuōn; κυνάριον kunarion) The term is used in a natural sense (Matt. 7:6), as well as a metaphorical sense (Rev 22:15). The Jews were prejudiced toward Gentiles and would often refer to them as dogs, namely unclean persons. On one occasion, Jesus, testing the faith of a Syrophoenician woman, softens the comparison of Gentiles to dogs by referring to them as “little dogs.” – Matt. 7:6; 15:26-27; Mark 7:27-28; Lu 16:21; Phil. 3:2; 2 Pet. 2:22; Rev. 22:15.

[47] Astounded: (ἐκπλήσσω ekplēssō) This one is extremely astounded or amazed, so much so that the person loses their mental self-control, as they are overwhelmed emotionally. – Matt. 7:28; Mark 1:22; 7:37; Lu 2:48; 4:32; 9:43; Ac 13:12.

[48] About four thousand men, as well as women and children, had eaten.

[49] The words “the boat” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.

[50] Rabbi (Teacher): (ῥαββί rhabbi) This is a Hebrew word (signifying “my master”) that was used as an honorific and respectful term of address for one who was a teacher of the Mosaic Law, really the whole of the Hebrew Old Testament Scriptures. – Matt. 23:7-8; 26:25, 49; John 1:38, 49; Mark 10:51.

[51] Lit discussing what is the rising from the dead

[52] Lit because he has a speechless or mute spirit

[53] Lit foams at the mouth and grinds his teeth and he dried up (a figurative expression that means he became stiff or rigid to the point of not being able to move, like a dried-out piece of leather.) It is also possible that it meant that he lost strength, vigor, or health.

[54] Or the one who believes (Lit to the one trusting)

[55] Gehenna: (γέεννα geenna) occurs 12 times and is the Greek name for the valley of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem (Jer. 7:31), where the horrendous worship of Moloch took place, and it was prophetically said that where dead bodies would be thrown. (Jer. 7:32; 19:6) It was an incinerator where trash and dead bodies were destroyed, not a place to be burned alive or tormented. Jesus and his disciples used Gehenna to symbolize eternal destruction, annihilation, or the “second death,” an eternal punishment of death.

[56] WH NU א B C L W ΔΨ 0274 f¹ 28 565 it^k syr^s cop lack; A D Θ f¹³ Maj, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” This verse is identical to verse 48 and is missing from the earliest and best manuscripts, as well as several text types. It is an interpolation.

[57] Gehenna: (γέεννα geenna) occurs 12 times and is the Greek name for the valley of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem (Jer. 7:31), where the horrendous worship of Moloch took place, and it was prophetically said that where dead bodies would be thrown. (Jer. 7:32; 19:6) It was an incinerator where trash and dead bodies were destroyed, not a place to be burned alive or tormented. Jesus and his disciples used Gehenna to symbolize eternal destruction, annihilation, or the “second death,” an eternal punishment of death.

[58] WH NU א B C L W ΔΨ 0274 f¹ 28 565 it^k syr^s cop lack; A D Θ f¹³ Maj, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.” This verse is identical to verse 48 and is missing from the earliest and best manuscripts, as well as several text types. It is an interpolation.

[59] Gehenna: (γέεννα geenna) occurs 12 times and is the Greek name for the valley of Hinnom, southwest of Jerusalem (Jer. 7:31), where the horrendous worship of Moloch took place, and it was prophetically said that where dead bodies would be thrown. (Jer. 7:32; 19:6) It was an incinerator where trash and dead bodies were destroyed, not a place to be burned alive or tormented. Jesus and his disciples used Gehenna to symbolize eternal destruction, annihilation, or the “second death,” an eternal punishment of death.

[60] Mark 10:2: “And Pharisees came up, testing him, began questioning him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife.” Some witnesses lack “Pharisees.” (D it syr^s) This would mean that Matthew failed to name Jesus’ critics. Hurtado has commented, “It is highly likely, but not absolutely certain that the original text contained this reference to Pharisees.” (Hurtado 1989, 166) The majority of the committee for the Greek New Testament felt the assimilation to the parallel passage in Matthew 19:3 was weak because it is not absolutely parallel and the widespread support for the longer reading moved them to retain the longer reading. However, the minority of the committee added, “Inasmuch as the impersonal plural is a feature of Markan style, the words προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι are probably an intrusion from Matthew; if retained at all, they should be enclosed within square brackets. B.M.M. and A.W.” (B. M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament 1994, 88)

[61] The Greek construction of (οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ) is literally “not not should enter.” This is forever true, as long as the person does not receive the kingdom of God like a child, he or she will never by no means, in any way, enter the kingdom of God.

[62] Astonished: (θαμβέω thambeō; derivative of thambos) This one is experiencing astonishment, to be astounded, or amazed because of some sudden and unusual event, which can be in a positive or negative sense. – Mark 1:27; 10:32; Lu 4:36; 5:9; Acts 3:10.

[63] Meaning Teacher

[64] Lit saved you

[65] Trespass: (παράπτωμα paraptōma) This is a sin that can come in the way of some desire (lusting), some thinking (entertaining a wrongdoing) or some action (carrying out one’s desires or thoughts that he or she has been entertaining) that is beyond or overstepping God’s righteous standards, as set out in the Scriptures. It is falling or making a false step as opposed to standing or walking upright in harmony with the righteous requirements of God. – Matt. 6:14; Mark 11:25; Rom. 4:25; 5:15-20; 11:11; 2 Cor. 5:19; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:7; 2:1, 5; Col 2:13.

[66] Many later Greek manuscripts added vs 26, as the scribes were expanding on verse 25, inserting the words from Matt. 6:15 making it agree with its parallel account. [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in the heavens forgive your trespasses.] However, the omission has much stronger manuscript support:  א B L W Δ Ψ 565 700 syr^s WH NU lack vs 26.

[67] Lit the head of the corner

[68] A quotation from Ps 118:22–23

[69] Or arrest

[70] Meaning that Jesus does not seek anyone’s favor.

[71] This is an idiom, literally ‘to see into the face’ is to judge on the basis of outward appearances.

[72] Or right

[73] Caesar: (Καῖσαρ Kaisar) This is the transliteration of the Greek, which means Emperor. It comes from a Roman family named Caesar, which would later become the title for the Roman emperors. Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius are specifically mentioned by name in the Bible. Even though Nero is not specifically named in the Bible, it would apply to him as well. “Caesar” is also used in the Greek New Testament to represent the civil authority, or the State. – Matt. 22:17; Mark 12:17; Ac 25:11-12.

[74] Resurrection: A rising up from death. The Greek (ἀνάστασις anastasis) means “a standing up, i.e., a resurrection, a raising up, rising.” The event at Jesus’ second coming when some of humanity will be restored to life in a body. Usually, the future rising of all believers from the dead; sometimes, unbelievers are also in view. Acts 24:15 speaks of “a hope in God, which hope these men await, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”

[75] Reference to Deuteronomy 25:5-6

[76] A quotation from Exodus 3:6

[77] A quotation from Deuteronomy 6:4–5, which reads, “Hear, O Israel! Jehovah our God is one Jehovah! You shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

[78] Quotation from Leviticus 19:18, which reads, You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Jehovah.

[79] A quotation from Ps 110:1

[80] That is two lepta, which was the smallest Jewish copper or bronze coin of very little value.

[81] Abomination of Desolation: (Heb. שִׁקּוּץ shiqquts or שִׁקֻּץ shiqquts שָׁמֵם shamem Gr. βδέλυγμα bdelugma ἐρήμωσις erēmōsis) An expression by Jesus recorded in Mathew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 referring to Daniel 11:31 and 12:11. Bdelugma refers to an abomination, unclean, which horrifies clean persons, leaving them disgusted. Eremoseos has the sense of an extensive desolating act or destruction, which caused total ruin, leaving no place for shelter.

[82] Or the elect

[83] Or the elect

[84] Some translations (e.g., LEB) read “the elect [i.e., chosen ones.]” “His” (αυτου) is supported by א A C K Γ Δ Θ Ψ ƒ^1.13 28. 565. 579. 700. 892. 1241. 1424. 2542 Maj lat sy.

[85] Three hundred denarii would have been about eleven months wages for a common laborer. Denarius: (dēnarion; Roman, silver) The denarius was equivalent to a day’s wages for a common laborer (12 hours). It was sixty-four quadrantes. It had an image of Caesar on one side. It was the “head tax” coin demanded by the Roman government from their subjects. – Matt. 20:2, 9; Mark 14:5; Lu 10:35; 20:24; John 6:7; Rev. 6:6.

[86] That is, betray him

[87] Matthew 26:15 mentions the specific amount as 30 pieces of silver.

[88] Body: (σῶμα sōma) The complete material structure or physical form of an organism, human being, or animal. (Mark 14:22; Lu 17:37; Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 12:12; 15:37; Phil. 3:21) There are also spiritual bodies, which are invisible to human eyes and completely beyond human senses. (1 Cor. 15:40, 44) The term “body” is also used symbolically. – Rom. 6:3-6; 1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:16; 4:4; Col. 1:18.

[89] Or hymns; psalms

[90] Stumble, fall away, to be offended: (σκανδαλίζω skandalizō) In Greek, “stumbling block” (skandalon) was originally a device or trap, which contained bait, to ensnare or catch something alive. (1 John 2:10) It is used in the Scriptures as a trap, obstacle, or snare that stumbles one into sinning. (Rom. 11:9; Matt. 13:41) It can also be used as an obstacle that causes offense, resulting in opposition. (1 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 5:11) The Greek, (skandalizomai) refers to one who ceases to believe because of tribulation. (Matt. 13:21) It can also refer to one who is spiritually weak, immature in the faith, resulting in their falling into sin. (2 Cor. 11:29) In addition, it can refer to one who takes offense to some action. (Matt. 15:12) It can refer to one who causes another no longer to believe (John 6:61) It can also refer to something or someone that causes another to sin because they are spiritually weak or immature in the faith. (Matt. 5:29; Rom. 14:21) It can refer to another who is angered or shocked by something or someone, which could result in their sinning. – Matt. 17:27; John 6:61.

[91] Abba: (Ἀββά Abba) A Greek transliteration of an Aramaic word that means “O Father!” It is similar to our English words like “daddy” or “papa.” It has the additional implied meaning of familiarity and intimacy. “Father” is a title used in communication with God. – Mark 14:36; Rom. 8:15-16; Gal. 4:6.

[92] That is, betrayed into the hands of sinners

[93] The TR NU read [καὶ ἀλέκτωρ ἐφώνησεν]

“and a rooster crowed, which is supported by A C D Θ Ψ^c 067 f^1,13 Maj. WH does not have this expansion by a later copyist seeking to show a literal fulfillment Jesus’ prediction in 14:30. Morover, the witnesses do not support it, א B L W Ψ* it^c syr^s cop^bo.

[94] Scourge: (φραγέλλιον phragellion) This scourging was a form of Roman punishment that preceded execution, where one was whipped severely with the most terrible instrument known as the flagellum, which had a handle where several leather thongs were fixed. These leather thongs contained embedded pieces of bone and metal. This made each blow more painful and effective. The Greek noun (phragellion) was drawn from the Latin flagellum. The Greek verb (phragelloō) means to beat with a whip, flog. – Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15.

[95] The Praetorian Guard was a special group of Roman soldiers, originally organized by Augustus as an imperial bodyguard for the emperor. It was made up nine (later increased to ten) cohorts of one thousand men each. In the Gospels and Acts, the praitorion is a reference to the governor’s palace or residence. Therefore, when Pilate interrogated Jesus in the praetorium, it is a reference to the governor’s residence or palace.

[96][96] That is, about 9:00 a.m.

[97] WH NU lack verse, which is supported by the earliest and best manuscripts א A B C D Ψ it^k syr^s cop^sa. A variant/TR add verse Και επληρωθη η γραφη η λεγουσα· και μετα ανομων ελογισθη “And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘He was counted among the lawless,’” which is supported by L Θ 083 0250 f^1,13 Maj syr^h,p.

[98] That is, about 12:00 noon

[99] That is, about 3:00 p.m.

[100] That is, about 3:00 p.m.

[101] Or a son of God or a son of a god

[102] That is, a councilor as a member of the Sanhedrin

[103] The Longer Ending of Mark

⁹ [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. ¹¹ But they, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe it.

¹² And after these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. ¹³ And they came back and reported to the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

¹⁴ Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. ¹⁶ He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs shall accompany those who believe: in my name they shall cast out demons; they shall speak in new tongues; ¹⁸ they shall pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message through the accompanying signs.]]

Mark ends at 16:8, which is supported by א B 304 syr^s cop^sa (l MS) arm geo (2 MSS) ^{Hesychius Eusebian canons} MSS^{according to Eusebius} MSS^{according to Jerome} MSS^{according to Severus}. In short, the traditional longer ending Mark 16:9-20 is not supported by the earliest and best manuscripts: (1) The early church fathers had no knowledge of anything beyond verse eight. (2) Such ancient scholars as Eusebius and Jerome marked them spurious. (3) The style of these verses is utterly different from that of Mark. (4) The vocabulary used in these verses is different from that of Mark. (5) Verse 8 does not transition well with verse 9, jumping from the women disciples to Jesus’ resurrection appearance. Jesus does not need to appear because Mark ended with the announcement that he had. We only want that because the other Gospels give us an appearance. So we expect it. (6) The very content of these verses contradicts the facts and the rest of the Greek New Testament. With textual scholarship, being very well aware of Mark’s abrupt style of writing, and abrupt ending to his Gospel does not seem out of place. Eusebius and Jerome, as well as this writer, agree.