English: Unlocked Literal Bible for Mark

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Bible Text: The English Unlocked Literal Bible (ULB)
©2017 Wycliffe Associates
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Notes: English ULB Translation Notes
©2017 Wycliffe Associates
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Mark

Chapter 1

¹This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

"Look, I am sending my messenger before your face,

the one who will prepare your way.

³The voice of one crying out in the wilderness,

'Make ready the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.'"

⁴John came, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.⁵The whole country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.⁶John wore a coat of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

⁷He was preaching, saying, "One will come after me who is more powerful than I; the strap of his sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.⁸I baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

⁹It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and he was baptized by John in the Jordan River.¹⁰As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens split open and the Spirit coming down on him like a dove.¹¹A voice came out of the heavens: "You are my beloved Son. I am very pleased with you."

¹²Then the Spirit compelled him to go out into the wilderness.¹³He was in the wilderness forty days being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels served him.

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.¹⁵He said, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel."

¹⁶When he was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea, for they were fishermen.¹⁷Jesus said to them, "Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."¹⁸Then immediately they left the nets and followed him.

¹⁹As Jesus was walking on a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and John his brother; they were in the boat mending the nets.²⁰He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and they followed him.

²¹Then they came into Capernaum, and on the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue and taught.²²They were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as someone who has authority and not as the scribes.

²³Just then a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit cried out,²⁴saying, "What do we have to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. You are the Holy One of God!"

²⁵Jesus rebuked the demon and said, "Be quiet and come out of him!"²⁶The unclean spirit threw him into convulsions and went out from him while crying out with a loud voice.

²⁷All the people were amazed, so they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him!"²⁸The news about him went out everywhere into the whole region of Galilee.

²⁹After coming out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, along with James and John.³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.³¹So he came, took her by the hand, and raised her up; the fever left her, and she started serving them.

³²That evening after the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed by demons.³³The whole city gathered together at the door.³⁴He healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, but he did not allow the demons to speak because they knew him.

³⁵He got up very early, while it was still dark; he left and went out into a solitary place and there he prayed.³⁶Simon and those who were with him searched for him.³⁷They found him and they said to him, "Everyone is looking for you."

³⁸He said, "Let us go elsewhere, out into the surrounding towns, so that I may preach there also. That is why I came out here."³⁹He went throughout all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰A leper came to him. He was begging him; he knelt down and said to him, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

⁴¹Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him, saying to him, "I am willing. Be clean."⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

⁴³Jesus strictly warned him and sent him away.⁴⁴He said to him, "Be sure to say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

⁴⁵But he went out and began to declare it freely and spread the word, so much so that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but he stayed out in remote places. Yet people were still coming to him from everywhere.

Chapter 2

¹When Jesus came back to Capernaum after a few days, it was heard that he was at home.²So many gathered there that there was no more space, not even at the door, and he spoke the word to them.

³Then some men came to him who were bringing a paralyzed man; four people were carrying him.⁴When they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof that was above Jesus, and after they made an opening, they lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.

⁵Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, and they reasoned in their hearts,⁷"How can this man speak this way? He blasphemes! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

⁸Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit what they were thinking within themselves. He said to them, "Why are you thinking this in your hearts?⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralyzed man, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take up your mat and walk'?

¹⁰But in order 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, take up your mat, and go to your house."

¹²He got up and immediately took up the mat, and went out of the house in front of everyone, so that they were all amazed and they gave glory to God, and they said, "We never saw anything like this."

¹³He went out again by the lake, and all the crowd came to him, and he taught them.¹⁴As he passed by, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's tent and he said to him, "Follow me." He got up and followed him.

¹⁵Jesus was having a meal in Levi's house and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with him and his disciples, for there were many and they followed him.¹⁶When the scribes, who were Pharisees, saw that Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "People who are strong in body do not need a physician; only people who are sick need one. I did not come to call righteous people, but sinners."

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

¹⁹Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding attendants fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

²⁰But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and in those days, they will fast.²¹No one sews a piece of new cloth on an old garment. Otherwise the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and there is a worse tear.

²²No one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the skins and both the wine and the wineskins are lost. Instead, new wine is put into fresh wineskins."

²³On the Sabbath day Jesus went through some grainfields, and his disciples began picking heads of grain as they made their way.²⁴The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing something that is not lawful on the Sabbath day?"

²⁵He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry—he and the men who were with him—²⁶how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the presence, which is unlawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he even gave some to those who were with him?"

²⁷Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for mankind, not mankind for the Sabbath.²⁸Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord, even of the Sabbath."

Chapter 3

¹Again Jesus walked into the synagogue, and there was a man with a withered hand.²Some people watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath so that they could accuse him.

³Jesus said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand here in the middle of everyone."⁴Then he said to the people, "Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath day or to do harm; to save a life or to kill?" But they were silent.

⁵He looked around at them with anger, and he was grieved by their hardness of heart, and he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.⁶The Pharisees went out and immediately began to plot with the Herodians as to how they might put him to death.

⁷Then Jesus, with his disciples, went to the sea, and a great crowd of people followed from Galilee and from Judea⁸and from Jerusalem and from Idumea and beyond the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon. When they heard about the things he was doing, a great crowd came to him.

⁹He told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not press against him.¹⁰For he healed many, so that everyone who had afflictions eagerly approached him in order to touch him.

¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, and they said, "You are the Son of God."¹²He strictly ordered them not to make him known.

¹³He went up on the mountain, and he called for those he wanted, and they came to him.¹⁴He appointed the twelve (whom he named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them to proclaim the message,¹⁵and to have authority to cast out demons.¹⁶He appointed the twelve: Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter;

¹⁷James son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder";¹⁸and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot,¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who would betray him.

²⁰Then he went home, and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat bread.²¹When his family heard about it, they went out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."

²²The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul" and "By the ruler of the demons he drives out demons."

²³Jesus called them to himself and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.²⁵If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

²⁶If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand, but has come to an end.²⁷But no one can enter into the house of a strong man and steal his belongings without tying up the strong man first, and then he will plunder his house.

²⁸Truly I say to you, all sins of the sons of men will be forgiven, even all the blasphemies which they utter,²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."

³⁰Jesus said this because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹Then his mother and his brothers came and stood outside. They sent for him, summoning him.³²A crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside, and they are looking for you."

³³He answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"³⁴He looked around at those who were sitting in a circle around him and said, "See, here are my mother and my brothers!³⁵For whoever does the will of God, that person is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Chapter 4

¹Again he began to teach beside the sea, and a large crowd gathered around him. He stepped into a boat that was on the sea, and he sat down in it. The whole crowd was on the shore beside the sea.²He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching, this is what he said to them.

³"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.⁴As he sowed, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured it.⁵Other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. Immediately it sprang up, because it did not have deep soil.

⁶But when the sun rose, the plants were scorched, and because they had no root, they dried up.⁷Other seed fell among the thorn plants. The thorn plants grew up and choked it, and it did not produce a crop.

⁸Other seed fell into good soil, and it produced a crop growing up and increasing and yielding thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times."⁹Then he said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!"

¹⁰When Jesus was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.¹¹He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside everything is in parables,

¹²so that when they look,

yes they look,

but do not see,

and so that when they hear,

yes they hear,

but do not understand,

or else they would turn

and God would forgive them."

¹³He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?¹⁴The sower sows the word.¹⁵These are the ones beside the road, where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.

¹⁶And these are the seed sown on the rocky ground; who, when they hear the word immediately receive it with joy.¹⁷But they do not have root in themselves, but they endure for a while. Afterward when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, they immediately fall away.

¹⁸Still others are the ones sown among the thorns. They are those who hear the word,¹⁹but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, and it is unproductive.²⁰Those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word, accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much."

²¹Jesus said to them, "Do you bring a lamp inside the house to put it under a basket or under the bed? You bring it in and you put it on a lampstand.²²For nothing is hidden that will not be known, and nothing is secret that will not come out into the open.²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"

²⁴He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear, for the measure you use will be measured to you, and more will be added to you.²⁵Because whoever has, to him will be given more, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken."

²⁶He also said, "The kingdom of God is like a man who sows his seed on the ground.²⁷He sleeps at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.²⁸The earth bears grain by itself: First the blade, then the ear, then the mature grain in the ear.²⁹When the crop is ripe, he immediately sends in the sickle because the harvest has come."

³⁰Again he said, "To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to explain it?³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.³²Yet, when it is sown, it grows and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and it forms large branches, so that the birds of heaven can make their nests in its shade."

³³With many parables like this he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to understand,³⁴and he did not speak to them without a parable. But when he was alone, he explained everything to his own disciples.

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go over to the other side."³⁶So they left the crowd, taking Jesus with them, just as he was, in the boat. There were other boats going along with him.³⁷Just then a violent windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was almost full of water.

³⁸But Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him up, saying, "Teacher, do you not care that we are about to die?"

³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰Then he said to them, "Why are you afraid? Do you still not have faith?"

⁴¹They were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, because even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Chapter 5

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.²When Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came up to him out of the tombs.

³The man lived in the tombs. No one could restrain him anymore, not even with a chain.⁴He had been bound many times with shackles and with chains. He tore the chains apart and his shackles were shattered. No one had the strength to subdue him.

⁵Every night and day in the tombs and in the mountains, he cried out and cut himself with sharp stones.⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran to him and bowed down before him.

⁷He cried out with a loud voice, "What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you by God himself, do not torment me."⁸For he had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit."

⁹He asked him, "What is your name?"

He answered him, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

¹⁰He begged him again and again not to send them out of the region.

¹¹Now a great herd of pigs was there feeding on the hill,¹²and they begged him, saying, "Send us into the pigs; let us enter into them."¹³So he allowed them; the unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep hill into the sea, and about two thousand pigs drowned in the sea.

¹⁴Then those who were feeding the pigs ran away and reported what had happened in the city and in the countryside, and so people went out to see what had happened.¹⁵Then they came to Jesus and they saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

¹⁶Those who had seen what happened to the demon-possessed man told them about it in detail, and they also told them about the pigs.¹⁷Then they started to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸When he was getting into the boat, the demon-possessed man begged him that he might be with him.¹⁹But Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go to your house and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, and how he has shown you mercy."²⁰So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis the great things that Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

²¹Now when Jesus had crossed over again to the other side in the boat, a great crowd gathered around him, as he was beside the sea.²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came, and when he saw him, fell at his feet.²³He begged again and again, saying, "My little daughter is near death. I beg you, come and lay your hands on her that she may be made well and live."²⁴So he went with him, and a great crowd followed him and pressed close around him.

²⁵Now a woman was there who had a flow of blood for twelve years.²⁶She had suffered much from many doctors and had spent everything that she had, but instead of getting better she grew worse.²⁷When she had heard the reports about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak.

²⁸For she said, "If I touch just his clothes, I will be healed."²⁹When she touched him, the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her affliction.

³⁰Jesus immediately realized in himself that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹His disciples said to him, "You see this crowd pressed around you, and you say, 'Who touched me?'"

³²But Jesus looked around to see who had done it.

³³The woman, knowing what had happened to her, feared and trembled. She came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction."

³⁵While he was speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader's house, saying, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any longer?"

³⁶But when Jesus overheard the message that was spoken, he said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid. Just believe."³⁷He did not permit anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.³⁸They came to the house of the leader of the synagogue and he saw there people making a lot of noise; they were weeping and wailing loudly.

³⁹When he entered the house, he said to them, "Why are you upset and why do you weep? The child is not dead but sleeps."⁴⁰They began to mock him. But he put them all outside and took the father of the child and the mother and those who were with him, and he went in where the child was.

⁴¹He took the hand of the child and said to her, "Talitha, koum!" which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, get up."⁴²Immediately the child got up and walked (for she was twelve years of age). They were immediately astonished with overwhelming amazement.⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know about this. Then he told them to give her something to eat.

Chapter 6

¹He went out from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.²When the Sabbath came, he taught in the synagogue. Many people heard him and they were amazed. They said, "Where did he get these teachings?" "What is this wisdom that has been given to him?" "What are these miracles that he does with his hands?"³"Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are his sisters not here with us?" They were offended by Jesus. ¹

⁴Then Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household."⁵He could not do any mighty work, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.⁶He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching.

⁷Then he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and he gave them authority over the unclean spirits,⁸and instructed them to take nothing for their journey, except a staff—no bread, no bag, and no money in their belts—⁹but to wear sandals, and not to wear two tunics.

¹⁰He said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, remain until you go away from there.¹¹If any town will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave that place, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony to them."

¹²They went out and proclaimed that people should repent.¹³They cast out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

¹⁴King Herod heard this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."¹⁵Some others said, "He is Elijah." Still others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets in ancient times."

¹⁶But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

¹⁷For Herod sent to have John arrested and he had him bound in prison on account of Herodias (his brother Philip's wife), because he had married her.

¹⁸For John told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."¹⁹But Herodias held on to anger against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not,²⁰for Herod feared John; he knew that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. Listening to him made him greatly perplexed, yet he heard him gladly.

²¹Then an opportunity came when Herod had his birthday and he made a dinner for his officials and for the commanders and leaders of Galilee.²²The daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced for them, and she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want and I will give it to you."

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

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask him for?"

She said, "The head of John the Baptist."

²⁵She immediately hurried back to the king, and she asked, saying, "I want you to give me, right now, the head of John the Baptist on a wooden platter."

²⁶Though this deeply grieved the king, he could not refuse her request because of the oath he had made and because of his dinner guests.²⁷So the king sent a soldier from his guard and commanded him to bring him John's head. The guard went and beheaded him in the prison.²⁸He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.²⁹When his disciples heard of this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles came together with Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.³¹Then he said to them, "Come away by yourselves into a deserted place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.³²So they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

³³But they saw them leaving and many recognized them, and they ran there together on foot from all the towns, and they arrived there before them.³⁴When they came ashore, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

³⁵When the hour was late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late.³⁶Send them away so that they may go into the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat for themselves."

³⁷But he answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."

They said to him, "Can we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?"

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

When they found out, they said, "Five loaves and two fish."

³⁹He commanded all the people to sit down in groups upon the green grass.⁴⁰They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.⁴¹He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

⁴²They all ate until they were satisfied.⁴³They took up broken pieces of bread, twelve baskets full, and also pieces of the fish.⁴⁴There were five thousand men who ate the loaves.

⁴⁵Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he sent the crowd away.⁴⁶After taking leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.⁴⁷Evening came, and the boat was now in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on land.

⁴⁸He saw that they were straining against the oars, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea, and he wanted to pass by them.⁴⁹But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought he was a ghost and cried out,⁵⁰because they saw him and were troubled. Immediately he spoke to them and said to them, "Be courageous! It is I! Do not be afraid!"

⁵¹He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased blowing. They were completely amazed.⁵²For they had not understood what the loaves meant. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored the boat.⁵⁴When they came out of the boat, the people recognized him immediately,⁵⁵and they ran throughout the whole region and began to bring the sick on their mats to wherever they heard he was.

⁵⁶Wherever he entered into villages, or cities, or into the country, they would put the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his garment, and as many as touched him were healed.

¹The man called Joses here is called Joseph in Matthew 27:56. The name Joseph represents how the name was spelled in Hebrew, and the name Joses represents how his name was spelled in Greek.

Chapter 7

¹The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him.

²They saw that some of his disciples ate bread with hands that were unclean, that is, unwashed.³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands carefully, because they hold to the tradition of the elders.⁴When the Pharisees come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they bathe themselves, and they hold to many other things they have received, such as the washing of cups, pots, copper vessels, and the couches upon which they eat.)

⁵The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?"

⁶But he said to them, "Isaiah prophesied well about you hypocrites. As it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

⁷In vain they worship me,

teaching the commands of men as their doctrines.'

⁸You abandon the commandment of God and hold on to the tradition of men."⁹He also said to them, "How well you reject the commandment of God so you may keep your tradition!¹⁰For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'He who speaks evil of his father or mother will surely be put to death.'

¹¹But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is Corban"' (that is to say, 'a Gift'),¹²then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother.¹³You are making the word of God void by your tradition which you have handed down. And many similar things you do."

¹⁴He called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand.¹⁵There is nothing from outside of a person that can defile him when it enters into him. It is what comes out of the person that defiles him."¹⁶¹

¹⁷Now when Jesus left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.¹⁸Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not know that whatever enters into a person from outside cannot defile him,¹⁹because it cannot go into his heart, but it goes into his stomach and then passes out into the latrine?" With this statement Jesus declared all foods clean.

²⁰He said, "It is that which comes out of the person that defiles him.²¹For from within a person, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,²²adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, folly.²³All these evils come from within, and they are what defile a person."

²⁴He got up from there and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. There he went into a house, and he wanted no one to know where he was, yet he could not be hidden.²⁵But immediately ² a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell down at his feet.²⁶Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by descent. She begged him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

²⁷He said to her, "Let the children first be fed. For it is not proper to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

²⁸But she answered and said to him, "Yes, Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

²⁹He said to her, "Because of what you have said, you are free to go. The demon has gone out of your daughter."³⁰She went back to her house and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

³¹Then he went out again from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee up into the region of the Decapolis.³²They brought to him someone who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

³³Then taking him aside away from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and then he spit and touched his tongue.³⁴Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is to say, "Open!"³⁵At once his ears were opened, the bond of his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶Jesus ordered them to tell no one. But the more he ordered them, the more abundantly they proclaimed it.³⁷They were extremely astonished, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

¹The best ancient copies do not have verse 16. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear .

²Some ancient copies do not have the words, But immediately .

Chapter 8

¹In those days, there was again a great crowd, and they had nothing to eat. Jesus called his disciples and said to them,²"I have compassion on the crowd because they continue to be with me already for three days and have nothing to eat.³If I send them away to their home without eating, they may faint on the way. Some of them have come a long way."

⁴His disciples answered him, "Where can we get enough loaves of bread in such a deserted place to satisfy these people?"

⁵He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"

They said, "Seven."

⁶He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. He took the seven loaves, gave thanks, and broke them. He gave them to his disciples to set before them, and they set them before the crowd.

⁷They also had a few small fish, and after he gave thanks for them, he commanded the disciples to serve these as well.⁸They ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the remaining broken pieces, seven large baskets.⁹There were about four thousand people. Then he sent them away.¹⁰Immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and they went into the region of Dalmanutha.

¹¹Then the Pharisees came out and began to argue with him. They sought from him a sign from heaven, to test him.¹²He sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."¹³Then he left them, got into a boat again, and went away to the other side.

¹⁴Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. They had no more than one loaf of bread in the boat.¹⁵He instructed them, saying, "Keep watch and be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod."

¹⁶The disciples were arguing with one another about having no bread.

¹⁷When he understood this, he asked them, "Why are you arguing about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Do you have hardened hearts?

¹⁸You have eyes; do you not see? You have ears; do you not hear? Do you not remember?¹⁹When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces of bread did you take up?"

They said to him, "Twelve."

²⁰"When I broke the seven loaves among the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces of bread did you take up?"

They said to him, "Seven."

²¹He said, "Do you not yet understand?"

²²They came to Bethsaida. The people there brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him.²³Jesus took hold of the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. When he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, "Do you see anything?"

²⁴He looked up, and said, "I see men who look like walking trees."

²⁵Then he again laid his hands upon his eyes, and the man opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw all things clearly.²⁶Jesus sent him away to his home and said, "Do not enter the village."

²⁷Jesus went out with his disciples into the villages of Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, "Who do the people say that I am?"

²⁸They answered him and said, "John the Baptist. Others say, 'Elijah,' and others, 'One of the prophets.'"

²⁹He asked them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Peter said to him, "You are the Christ."

³⁰Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

³¹He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and would be killed, and after three days rise up.³²He spoke that message openly. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

³³But Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then he rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of people."³⁴Then he called the crowd and his disciples together, and he said to them, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.³⁶What does it profit a person to gain the whole world and then forfeit his life?³⁷What can a person give in exchange for his life?

³⁸Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Chapter 9

¹He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of you who are standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power."

²Six days later, Jesus took Peter and James and John with him up a high mountain, alone by themselves. Then he was transfigured before them.³His garments became radiantly brilliant, extremely white, whiter than any bleacher on earth could bleach them.

⁴Then Elijah with Moses appeared to them, and they were talking with Jesus.⁵Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here, and so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."⁶(For he did not know what to say, for they were terrified.)

⁷A cloud came and overshadowed them. Then a voice came out of the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."⁸Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them, but only Jesus.

⁹As they were coming down the mountain, he commanded them to tell no one what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.¹⁰So they kept the matter to themselves, but they discussed among themselves what "rising from the dead" could mean.

¹¹They asked him, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"

¹²He said to them, "Elijah does come first to restore all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised?¹³But I say to you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they wanted to him, just as it is written about him."

¹⁴When they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes were arguing with them.¹⁵As soon as they saw Jesus, the whole crowd was amazed, and as they ran up to him, they greeted him.¹⁶He asked his disciples, "What are you arguing with them about?"

¹⁷Someone in the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that makes him unable to speak.¹⁸It seizes him and it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out of him, but they could not."

¹⁹He answered them, "Unbelieving generation, how long will I have to stay with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him to me."

²⁰They brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw him into a convulsion. The boy fell on the ground and foamed at the mouth.²¹Jesus asked his father, "For how much time has he been like this?"

The father said, "Since childhood.

²²It has often thrown him into the fire or into the waters and tried to destroy him. If you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us."

²³Jesus said to him, "'If you are able'? All things are possible for the one who believes."

²⁴Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe! Help my unbelief!"

²⁵When Jesus saw the crowd running to them, he rebuked the unclean spirit and said, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter into him again."

²⁶It cried out and convulsed the boy greatly and then came out. The boy looked like one who was dead, so that many said, "He is dead."²⁷But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and the boy stood up.

²⁸When Jesus came into the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"

²⁹He said to them, "This kind cannot be cast out except by prayer."

³⁰They went out from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know where they were,³¹for he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man will be given over into the hands of men, and they will put him to death. When he has been put to death, after three days he will rise again."³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³Then they came to Capernaum. After he entered the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"³⁴But they were silent. For they had been arguing with one another on the way about who was the greatest.³⁵Sitting down, he called the twelve together and he said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."

³⁶He took a little child and placed him in their midst. He took him in his arms and said to them,³⁷"Whoever receives such a child in my name receives me; whoever receives me does not receive me but the one who sent me."

³⁸John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we stopped him, because he does not follow us."

³⁹But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name and can soon afterwards say anything bad about me.

⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us.⁴¹Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name because you belong to Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴²Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea.⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than to have two hands and to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.⁴⁴¹

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame than to have your two feet and be thrown into hell.⁴⁶²

⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out. It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,⁴⁸where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out.

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

¹The best ancient copies do not have this phrase, and verse 44 is not included in the ULB, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out. This phrase does appear in verse 48.

²The best ancient copies do not have this phrase, and verse 46 is not included in the ULB, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not put out. This phrase does appear in verse 48.

Chapter 10

¹Jesus left that place and went to the region of Judea and to the area beyond the Jordan River, and the crowds came to him again. He was teaching them again, as he was accustomed to do.²Then Pharisees came to him to test him and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"

³He answered, "What did Moses command you?"

⁴They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and then to send her away."

⁵"It was because of your hard hearts that he wrote you this law," Jesus said to them.⁶"But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'

⁷'For this reason

a man will leave his father and mother

and be united to his wife,

⁸and the two will become one flesh.'

So they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no man tear apart."

¹⁰When they were in the house, the disciples asked him again about this.¹¹He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.¹²If she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery."

¹³Then they brought their little children to him so that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.¹⁴But when Jesus noticed it, he was angry and said to them, "Permit the little children to come to me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like them.

¹⁵Truly I say to you, whoever will not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will definitely not enter it."¹⁶Then he took the children into his arms and blessed them as he placed his hands on them.

¹⁷When he began his journey, a man ran up to him and knelt before him and asked, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

¹⁸Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.¹⁹You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not testify falsely, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.'"

²⁰The man said, "Teacher, all these things I have obeyed from the time I was a youth."

²¹Jesus looked at him and loved him. He said to him, "One thing you lack. You must sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."²²But because of this statement he looked very sad and he went away sorrowful, because he had many possessions.

²³Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it is for those who are rich to enter the kingdom of God!"²⁴The disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter into the kingdom of God!²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."

²⁶They were greatly astonished and said to each other, "Then who can be saved?"

²⁷Jesus looked at them and said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God."

²⁸Peter began to speak to him: "Look, we have left everything and have followed you."

²⁹Jesus 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 lands for my sake and for the gospel³⁰who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to come, eternal life.³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

³²They were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, and those who were following behind were afraid. Then Jesus took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what would soon happen to him.³³"See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be given over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and give him over to the Gentiles.³⁴They will mock him, spit on him, whip him, and put him to death. But after three days he will rise."

³⁵James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you."

³⁶He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?"

³⁷They said, "Allow us to sit with you in your glory, one at your right hand and the other at your left."

³⁸But Jesus replied to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup which I will drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I will be baptized?"

³⁹They said to him, "We are able."

Jesus said to them, "The cup that I will drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you also will be baptized.

⁴⁰But who is to sit at my right hand or at my left hand is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."

⁴¹When the other ten disciples heard about this, they began to be very angry with James and John.⁴²Jesus called them to himself and said, "You know those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

⁴³But it is not this way among you. Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant,⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all.⁴⁵For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, sat by the road.⁴⁷When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to shout and to say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸Many rebuked the blind man, telling him to be quiet. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁹Jesus stopped and commanded him to be called. They called the blind man, saying, "Be brave! Get up! He is calling for you."⁵⁰He threw aside his coat, sprang up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹Jesus answered him and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"

The blind man said, "Rabboni, I want to receive my sight."

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, "Go. Your faith has healed you." Immediately he could see again, and he followed him on the road.

Chapter 11

¹Now as they came to Jerusalem, they were close to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, and Jesus sent out two of his disciples²and said to them, "Go into the village opposite us. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it to me.³If anyone says to you, 'Why are you doing this?' you should say, 'The Lord has need of it and will immediately send it back here.'"

⁴They went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.⁵Some people were standing there and said to them, "What are you doing, untying that colt?"⁶They spoke to them as Jesus told them, and the people let them go their way.

⁷They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.⁸Many people spread their garments on the road, and others spread branches they had cut from the fields.⁹Those who went before him and those who followed shouted,

"Hosanna! Blessed is the one

who comes in the name of the Lord.

¹⁰Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!

Hosanna in the highest!"

¹¹Then Jesus entered into Jerusalem and went into the temple and looked around at everything. Now the time being late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.¹²The next day while they were going out from Bethany, he was hungry.

¹³Seeing from far away a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.¹⁴He said to it, "No one will ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it.

¹⁵They came to Jerusalem, and he entered the temple and began to cast out the sellers and the buyers in the temple. He turned over the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.¹⁶He did not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple that could be sold.

¹⁷He taught them and said, "Is it not written,

'My house will be called

a house of prayer for all the nations'?

But you have made it a den of robbers."

¹⁸The chief priests and the scribes heard what he had said, and they looked for a way to destroy him. For they feared him because the entire crowd was amazed at his teaching.¹⁹When evening came, they left the city.

²⁰As they walked by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.²¹Peter remembered and said, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered away."

²²Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God.²³Truly I say to you that if anyone says to this mountain, 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and if he does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he said will happen, that is what God will do.

²⁴Therefore I say to you: Everything you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.²⁵When you stand and pray, you must forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your trespasses."²⁶¹

²⁷They came to Jerusalem again. As Jesus was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to him.²⁸They said to him, "By what authority do you do these things, and who gave you the authority to do them?"

²⁹Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question. Tell me and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.³⁰The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men? Answer me."

³¹They discussed between themselves and argued and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'³²But if we say, 'From men,' ... ." They were afraid of the people, for everyone was convinced that John was a prophet.³³Then they answered Jesus and said, "We do not know."

Then Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

¹The best ancient copies of Mark do not have this sentence: But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses .

Chapter 12

¹Then Jesus began to teach them in parables. He said, "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, and dug a pit for a winepress. He built a watchtower and then leased the vineyard to vine growers. Then he went away on a journey.²At the right time, he sent a servant to the vine growers to receive from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.³But they took him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.

⁴Again he sent to them another servant, and they wounded him in the head and treated him shamefully.⁵He sent yet another, and this one they killed. They treated many others in the same way, beating some and killing others.

⁶He had still one more person to send, a beloved son. He was the last one he sent to them. He said, 'They will respect my son.'

⁷"But the vine growers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

⁸They seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.⁹Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vine growers and will give the vineyard to others.

¹⁰Have you not read this scripture?

'The stone which the builders rejected

has been made the cornerstone.

¹¹This was from the Lord,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.'"

¹²After this the Jewish leaders sought a way to arrest Jesus because they understood that he spoke the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd. So they left him and went away.

¹³Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him to trap him with words.¹⁴When they came, they said to him, "Teacher, what people think is not a concern to you because you do not show partiality to anyone. You truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or not?"

¹⁵But Jesus knew their hypocrisy and said to them, "Why do you test me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it."

¹⁶They brought one to Jesus. He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"

They said, "Caesar's."

¹⁷Jesus said, "Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They marveled at him.

¹⁸Then Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him. They asked him, saying,¹⁹"Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If a man's brother dies and leaves a wife behind him, but had no child, the man should take the brother's wife, and raise up children for his brother.'

²⁰There were seven brothers; the first took a wife and then died, having no children.²¹Then the second took her and died, leaving no child, and the third in the same way.²²The seven left no children. Last of all, the woman also died.²³In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven brothers had her as their wife."

²⁴Jesus said, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, because you do not know the scriptures nor the power of God?²⁵For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven.

²⁶But concerning the dead that are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the bush, how God spoke to him and said, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'?²⁷He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite mistaken."

²⁸One of the scribes came and heard their discussion; he saw that Jesus answered them well. He asked him, "What commandment is the most important of all?"

²⁹Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.³⁰You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'³¹The second commandment is this, 'You must love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other greater commandment than these."

³²The scribe said, "Good, Teacher! You have truly said that God is one, and that there is no other besides him.³³To 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 even more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴When Jesus saw that he had given a wise answer, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

³⁵While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, "How is it that the scribes say the Christ is the son of David?³⁶David himself, in the Holy Spirit, said,

'The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies under your feet."'

³⁷David himself calls him 'Lord,' so how can the Christ be David's son?" The large crowd gladly listened to him.

³⁸In his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes and be greeted in the marketplaces,³⁹and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts.⁴⁰They also devour widows' houses, and they pray long prayers for people to see. These men will receive greater condemnation."

⁴¹Then Jesus sat down across from an offering box in the temple area; he was watching people as they dropped their money into the box. Many rich people put in large amounts of money.⁴²Then a poor widow came and put in two mites, worth about a penny.

⁴³He called his disciples and said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them who contributed to the offering box.⁴⁴For all of them gave out of their abundance. But this widow, out of her poverty, put in all of the money which she had to live on."

Chapter 13

¹As Jesus was walking away from the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, look at the wonderful stones and wonderful buildings!"

²Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another which will not be torn down."

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,⁴"Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign when all these things are about to happen?"

⁵Jesus began to say to them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray.⁶Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he,' and they will lead many astray.

⁷When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; these things must happen, but the end is not yet.⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many places, and famines. These are the beginnings of birth pains.

⁹"Be on your guard. They will give you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before both governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them.¹⁰But the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations.

¹¹When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry about what you should say. For in that hour, what you should say will be given to you; it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.¹²Brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death.¹³You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But whoever endures to the end, that person will be saved.

¹⁴"When you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be standing" (let the reader understand), "let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,¹⁵let him who is on the housetop not go down into the house or take anything out of it,¹⁶and let him who is in the field not return to take his cloak.

¹⁷But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days!¹⁸Pray that it might not occur in the winter.¹⁹For those will be days of great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of creation, which God created, until now, no, nor ever will be again.²⁰Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those whom he chose, he cut short the days.

²¹Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.²²For false Christs and false prophets will appear and will give signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.²³Be on guard! I have told you all these things ahead of time.

²⁴"But after the tribulation of those days,

'the sun will be darkened,

the moon will not give its light,

²⁵the stars will fall from the sky,

and the powers that are in the heavens

will be shaken.'

²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.²⁷Then he will send his angels and he will gather together his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.

²⁸"Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as the branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.²⁹So also, when you see these things happening, recognize that he is near, close to the gates.

³⁰Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all of these things occur.³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.³²But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father.

³³"Be alert! Watch, because you do not know what time it is. ¹³⁴It is like a man who goes on a journey—he leaves his house and puts his servants in charge of the house, each one with his work, and he commands the doorkeeper to stay alert.

³⁵Therefore stay alert because you do not know when the master of the house will come home; it could be in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning.³⁶If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.³⁷What I say to you I say to everyone: Watch!"

¹Some ancient copies of the Greek text read: Be alert! Watch and pray .

Chapter 14

¹It was now two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the scribes were seeking ways to stealthily arrest Jesus and then kill him.²For they were saying, "Not during the festival, so that a riot does not arise among the people."

³While Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at the table, a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which was pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the nard on his head.⁴But there were some who were angry. They spoke among themselves and said, "What is the reason for the waste of this perfume?⁵This perfume could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor." Then they scolded her.

⁶But Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Why are you troubling her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.⁷You always have the poor with you, and whenever you desire you can do good to them, but you will not always have me.⁸She has done what she could. She has anointed my body for burial.⁹Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be spoken of, in memory of her."

¹⁰Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went away to the chief priests so that he might give him over to them.¹¹When the chief priests heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. He began looking for an opportunity to give him over to them.

¹²On the first day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go to prepare, so you may eat the Passover meal?"

¹³He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man bearing a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him.¹⁴Where he enters a house, follow him in and say to the owner of that house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I will eat the Passover with my disciples?"'

¹⁵He will show you a large furnished upper room that is ready. Make the preparations for us there."¹⁶The disciples left and went to the city. They found everything as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover meal.

¹⁷When it was evening, he came with the twelve.¹⁸As they were lying down at the table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, one of you eating with me will betray me."

¹⁹They were all very sorrowful, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?"

²⁰Jesus answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, the one now dipping bread with me in the bowl.²¹For the Son of Man will go 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 him if he had not been born."

²²As they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, and broke it. He gave it to them and said, "Take this. This is my body."²³He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it.²⁴He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, the blood that is poured out for many.²⁵Truly I say to you, I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."

²⁶When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.²⁷Jesus said to them, "All of you will fall away, for it is written,

'I will strike the shepherd

and the sheep will be scattered.'

²⁸But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."

²⁹Peter said to him, "Even if all fall away, I will not."

³⁰Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, today—yes, this very night—before the rooster crows twice you will deny me three times."

³¹But Peter said emphatically, "If I must die with you, I will not deny you." They all made the same promise.

³²They came to the place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray."³³He took Peter, James, and John with him and began to be distressed and deeply troubled.³⁴He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and watch."

³⁵Going a little farther, Jesus fell to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him.³⁶He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible with you. Remove this cup from me. But not my will, but yours."

³⁷He came back and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch for one hour?³⁸Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."³⁹Again he went away and prayed, and he used the same words.

⁴⁰When he came back again, he found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.⁴¹He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come. Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.⁴²Get up; let us go. Look, the one who is betraying me is near."

⁴³While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and a large crowd was with him with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders.⁴⁴Now his betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard."⁴⁵When Judas arrived, immediately he came up to Jesus and said, "Rabbi," and he kissed him.⁴⁶Then they laid hands on him and seized him.

⁴⁷But one of them who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸Jesus said to them, "Do you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs, to arrest me?⁴⁹When I was daily with you and I was teaching in the temple, you did not arrest me. But this was done that the scriptures might be fulfilled."⁵⁰All those with Jesus left him and ran away.

⁵¹A young man, wearing only a linen garment that was wrapped around him, was following Jesus. When the men seized him,⁵²he left the linen garment and ran away naked.

⁵³They led Jesus to the high priest. There were gathered with him all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes.⁵⁴Now Peter followed him from a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest. He sat among the officers, warming himself near the fire.

⁵⁵Now the chief priests and the entire Jewish council were seeking testimony against Jesus so they might put him to death. But they did not find any.⁵⁶For many brought false testimony against him, but even their testimony did not agree.

⁵⁷Some stood up and brought false testimony against him; they said,⁵⁸"We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days I will build another made without hands.'"⁵⁹Yet even their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰The high priest stood up among them and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it these men testify against you?"⁶¹But he was silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest questioned him and said, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

⁶²Jesus said, "I am;

and you will see the Son of Man

when he sits at the right hand of power

and comes with the clouds of heaven."

⁶³The high priest tore his garments and said, "Do we still need witnesses?⁶⁴You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?" They all condemned him as one who deserved death.

⁶⁵Some began to spit on him and to cover his face and strike him with their fists and say to him, "Prophesy!" The officers took him and beat him.

⁶⁶While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came to him.⁶⁷She saw Peter warming himself, and she looked closely at him and said, "You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus."

⁶⁸But he denied it, saying, "I neither know nor understand what you are talking about." Then he went out into the gateway. And the rooster crowed. ¹

⁶⁹But the servant girl saw him and began to say again to those who stood there, "This man is one of them!"

⁷⁰But he denied it again. After a little while, those who stood there were saying to Peter, "Surely you are one of them, for you also are a Galilean."

⁷¹But he began to put himself under curses and to swear, "I do not know this man you are talking about."

⁷²The rooster immediately crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said to him: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times," and he broke down and wept.

¹Some ancient copies do not have, And the rooster crowed .

Chapter 15

¹Early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the entire Jewish council, consulted together. Then they bound Jesus and led him away. They handed him over to Pilate.²Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

He answered him, "You say so."

³The chief priests were accusing him of many things.

⁴Pilate again asked him, "Do you give no answer? See how many things they are accusing you of!"⁵But Jesus no longer answered Pilate, and that amazed him.

⁶Now at the time of the festival, Pilate usually released to them one prisoner, a prisoner they requested.⁷There was a man called Barabbas in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the rebellion.⁸The crowd came to Pilate and began to ask him to do for them as he had done in the past.

⁹Pilate answered them and said, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"¹⁰For he knew that it was because of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to cry out that Barabbas should be released instead.

¹²Pilate answered them again and said, "What then should I do with the King of the Jews?"

¹³They shouted again, "Crucify him!"

¹⁴Pilate said to them, "What evil has he done?"

But they shouted more and more, "Crucify him."

¹⁵Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd, so he released Barabbas to them. He scourged Jesus and then handed him over to be crucified.

¹⁶The soldiers led him inside the courtyard (which is the government headquarters), and they called together the whole company of soldiers.¹⁷They put a purple robe on Jesus, and they twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on him.¹⁸They began to salute him and say, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

¹⁹They were striking his head with a reed staff and spitting on him. They went to their knees and they bowed down before him.²⁰When they had mocked him, they took off of him the purple robe and put his own garments on him, and then led him out to crucify him.²¹A certain man, Simon of Cyrene, was coming in from the country (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus), and they forced him to carry his cross.

²²The soldiers brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which is translated "Place of a Skull").²³They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not drink it.²⁴They crucified him and divided up his garments by casting lots to determine what piece each soldier would take.

²⁵It was the third hour when they crucified him.²⁶On a sign they wrote the charge against him, "The king of the Jews."²⁷With him they crucified two robbers, one on the right of him and one on his left.²⁸¹

²⁹Those who passed by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,³⁰save yourself and come down from the cross!"

³¹In the same way the chief priests were mocking him with each other, along with the scribes, and said, "He saved others, but he cannot save himself.³²Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.

³³At the sixth hour, darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.³⁴At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is interpreted, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"³⁵Some of those standing by heard his words and said, "Look, he is calling for Elijah."

³⁶Someone ran, put sour wine on a sponge, put it on a reed staff, and gave it to him to drink. The man said, "Let us see if Elijah comes to take him down."³⁷Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and died.

³⁸The curtain of the temple was split in two from the top to the bottom.

³⁹When the centurion who stood and faced Jesus saw that he had died in this way, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God."⁴⁰There were also women who looked on from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joses), ² and Salome.⁴¹When he was in Galilee, they followed him and served him. Many other women also came up with him to Jerusalem.

⁴²When evening had come, because it was the Day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,⁴³Joseph of Arimathea came there. He was a respected member of the council who was waiting for the kingdom of God. He boldly went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.⁴⁴Pilate was amazed that Jesus was already dead; he called the centurion and asked him if Jesus was dead.

⁴⁵When Pilate learned from the centurion that Jesus was dead, he gave the body to Joseph.⁴⁶Joseph had bought a linen cloth. He took him down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of a rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.⁴⁷Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw the place where Jesus was buried.

¹The best ancient copies do not have Mark 15:28, The scripture was fulfilled that says, 'He was counted with the lawless ones.'

²The man called Joses here is called Joseph in Mark 6:3. The name Joseph represents how the name was spelled in Hebrew, and the name Joses represents how his name was spelled in Greek.

Chapter 16

¹When the Sabbath day was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint Jesus' body.²Very early on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb when the sun had come up.

³They were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?"⁴When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, for it was very large.

⁵They entered the tomb and saw a young man dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶He said to them, "Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. Look at the place where they had laid him.⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'"

⁸They went out and ran from the tomb; they were trembling and amazed. They said nothing to anyone because they were so afraid.

⁹¹ [Early on the first day of the week, after he arose, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.¹⁰She went and told those who were with him, while they were mourning and weeping.¹¹They heard that he was alive and that he had been seen by her, but they did not believe.

¹²After these things he appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking out into the country.¹³They went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

¹⁴Jesus later appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at the table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw him after he rose from the dead.¹⁵He said to them, "Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to the entire creation.¹⁶He who believes and is baptized will be saved, and he who does not believe will be condemned.

¹⁷These signs will go with those who believe: In my name they will cast out demons. They will speak in new languages.¹⁸They will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well."

¹⁹After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.²⁰The disciples left and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word by the signs that went with them.] ²

¹The best ancient copies do not have Mark 16:9-20.

²See the note on Mark 16:9.