10 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

10 And [Jesus] left there [Capernaum] and went to the region of Judea and beyond [east of] the Jordan; and crowds [constantly] gathered around Him again, and as was His custom, He began to teach them again.

And some Pharisees came up, and, in order to test Him and try to find a weakness in Him, asked, Is it lawful for a man to [a]dismiss and repudiate and divorce his wife?

He answered them, What did Moses command you?

They replied, Moses allowed a man to write a bill of divorce and to put her away.(A)

But Jesus said to them, Because of your hardness of heart [[b]your condition of insensibility to the call of God] he wrote you this [c]precept in your Law.

But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.(B)

For this reason a man shall leave [behind] his father and his mother [d]and be [e]joined to his wife and cleave closely to her permanently,

And the two shall become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.(C)

What therefore God has united (joined together), let not man separate or divide.

10 And indoors the disciples questioned Him again about this subject.

11 And He said to them, Whoever [f]dismisses (repudiates and divorces) his wife and marries another commits adultery against her;

12 And if a woman dismisses (repudiates and divorces) her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

13 And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it].

14 But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and [g]pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me—do not forbid or prevent or hinder them—for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all.

16 And He took them [the children up [h]one by one] in His arms and [[i]fervently invoked a] blessing, placing His hands upon them.

17 And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him, Teacher, [You are [j]essentially and perfectly [k]morally] good, what must I do to inherit eternal life [that is, [l]to partake of eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?

18 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call Me [[m]essentially and perfectly [n]morally] good? There is no one [[o]essentially and perfectly [p]morally] good—except God alone.

19 You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.(D)

20 And he replied to Him, Teacher, I have carefully guarded and observed all these and taken care not to violate them from my boyhood.

21 And Jesus, looking upon him, loved him, and He said to him, You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [[q]walking the same road that I walk].

22 At that saying the man’s countenance fell and was gloomy, and he went away grieved and sorrowing, for he was holding great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, With what difficulty will those who possess wealth and [r]keep on holding it enter the kingdom of God!

24 And the disciples were amazed and bewildered and perplexed at His words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is [s]for those who trust (place their confidence, their sense of safety) in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

26 And they were shocked and exceedingly astonished, and said to Him and [t]to one another, Then who can be saved?

27 Jesus glanced around at them and said, With men [it is] impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.

28 Peter started to say to Him, Behold, we have [u]yielded up and abandoned everything [once and for all and [v]joined You as Your disciples, siding with Your party] and accompanied You [[w]walking the same road that You walk].

29 Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there is no one who has given up and left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the Gospel’s

30 Who will not receive a hundred times as much now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

31 But many [who are now] first will be last [then], and many [who are now] last will be first [then].

32 They were on the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking on in front of them; and they were bewildered and perplexed and greatly astonished, and those [who were still] following were seized with alarm and were afraid. And He took the Twelve [apostles] again and began to tell them what was about to happen to Him,

33 [Saying], Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn and sentence Him to death and turn Him over to the Gentiles.

34 And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again [[x]from death].

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Him and said to Him, Teacher, we desire You to do for us whatever we ask of You.

36 And He replied to them, What do you desire Me to do for you?

37 And they said to Him, Grant that we may sit, one at Your right hand and one at [Your] left hand, in Your glory (Your majesty and splendor).

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 be baptized with the baptism [of affliction] with which I am baptized?

39 And they replied to Him, We are able. And Jesus told them, The cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized,

40 But to sit at My right hand or at My left hand is not Mine to give; but [it will be given to those] for whom it is ordained and prepared.

41 And when the other ten [apostles] heard it, they began to be indignant with James and John.

42 But Jesus called them to [Him] and said to them, You know that those who are recognized as governing and are supposed to rule the Gentiles (the nations) lord it over them [ruling with absolute power, holding them in subjection], and their great men exercise authority and dominion over them.

43 But this is not to be so among you; instead, whoever desires to be great among you must be your servant,

44 And whoever wishes to be most important and first in rank among you must be slave of all.

45 For even the Son of Man came not to have service rendered to Him, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for ([y]instead of) many.

46 Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, a son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [[z]now]!

48 And many [aa]severely censured and reproved him, telling him to keep still, but he kept on shouting out all the more, You Son of David, have pity and mercy on me [now]!

49 And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you.

50 And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus said to him, What do you want Me to do for you? And the blind man said to Him, Master, let me receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said to him, Go your way; your faith has healed you. And at once he received his sight and accompanied Jesus on the road.(E)

Footnotes

  1. Mark 10:2 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  2. Mark 10:5 Henry Swete, The Gospel According to Saint Mark.
  3. Mark 10:5 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  4. Mark 10:7 Some manuscripts do not contain this last section of verse 7.
  5. Mark 10:7 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
  6. Mark 10:11 Henry Swete, The Gospel According to Saint Mark.
  7. Mark 10:14 A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures.
  8. Mark 10:16 W. Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor’s Greek New Testament.
  9. Mark 10:16 Henry Alford, The Greek New Testament.
  10. Mark 10:17 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  11. Mark 10:17 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  12. Mark 10:17 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  13. Mark 10:18 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  14. Mark 10:18 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  15. Mark 10:18 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  16. Mark 10:18 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  17. Mark 10:21 Literal translation.
  18. Mark 10:23 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  19. Mark 10:24 Some manuscripts do not contain this phrase.
  20. Mark 10:26 Many ancient manuscripts add “to one another.”
  21. Mark 10:28 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies.
  22. Mark 10:28 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  23. Mark 10:28 Literal translation.
  24. Mark 10:34 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  25. Mark 10:45 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  26. Mark 10:47 Kenneth Wuest, Word Studies: The Greek aorist (past tense) imperative.
  27. Mark 10:48 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.

10 Then he left Capernaum[a] and went southward to the Judean borders and into the area east of the Jordan River. And as always there were the crowds; and as usual he taught them.

Some Pharisees came and asked him, “Do you permit divorce?” Of course they were trying to trap him.

“What did Moses say about divorce?” Jesus asked them.

“He said it was all right,” they replied. “He said that all a man has to do is write his wife a letter of dismissal.”

“And why did he say that?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you why—it was a concession to your hardhearted wickedness. 6-7 But it certainly isn’t God’s way. For from the very first he made man and woman to be joined together permanently in marriage; therefore a man is to leave his father and mother, and he and his wife are united so that they are no longer two, but one. And no man may separate what God has joined together.”

10 Later, when he was alone with his disciples in the house, they brought up the subject again.

11 He told them, “When a man divorces his wife to marry someone else, he commits adultery against her. 12 And if a wife divorces her husband and remarries, she, too, commits adultery.”

13 Once when some mothers[b] were bringing their children to Jesus to bless them, the disciples shooed them away, telling them not to bother him.

14 But when Jesus saw what was happening he was very much displeased with his disciples and said to them, “Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don’t send them away! 15 I tell you as seriously as I know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a little child will never be allowed into his Kingdom.”

16 Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and he blessed them.

17 As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running to him and knelt down and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get to heaven?”

18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good! 19 But as for your question—you know the commandments: don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, respect your father and mother.”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve never once[c] broken a single one of those laws.”

21 Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him; “go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor—and you shall have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”

22 Then the man’s face fell, and he went sadly away, for he was very rich.

23 Jesus watched him go, then turned around and said to his disciples, “It’s almost impossible for the rich to get into the Kingdom of God!”

24 This amazed them. So Jesus said it again: “Dear children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches[d] 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 man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

26 The disciples were incredulous! “Then who in the world can be saved, if not a rich man?” they asked.

27 Jesus looked at them intently, then said, “Without God, it is utterly impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

28 Then Peter began to mention all that he and the other disciples had left behind. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.

29 And Jesus replied, “Let me assure you that no one has ever given up anything—home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or property—for love of me and to tell others the Good News, 30 who won’t be given back, a hundred times over, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land—with persecutions!

“All these will be his here on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life. 31 But many people who seem to be important now will be the least important then; and many who are considered least here shall be greatest there.”

32 Now they were on the way to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking along ahead; and as the disciples were following they were filled with terror and dread.

Taking them aside, Jesus once more began describing all that was going to happen to him when they arrived at Jerusalem.

33 “When we get there,” he told them, “I, the Messiah,[e] will be arrested and taken before the chief priests and the Jewish leaders, who will sentence me to die and hand me over to the Romans to be killed. 34 They will mock me and spit on me and flog me with their whips and kill me; but after three days I will come back to life again.”

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him in a low voice.[f] “Master,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

36 “What is it?” he asked.

37 “We want to sit on the thrones next to yours in your Kingdom,” they said, “one at your right and the other at your left!”

38 But Jesus answered, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I must drink from? Or to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

39 “Oh, yes,” they said, “we are!”

And Jesus said, “You shall indeed drink from my cup and be baptized with my baptism, 40 but I do not have the right to place you on thrones next to mine. Those appointments have already been made.”

41 When the other disciples discovered what James and John had asked, they were very indignant. 42 So Jesus called them to him and said, “As you know, the kings and great men of the earth lord it over the people; 43 but among you it is different. Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. 44 And whoever wants to be greatest of all must be the slave of all. 45 For even I, the Messiah,[g] am not here to be served, but to help others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”

46 And so they reached Jericho. Later, as they left town, a great crowd was following. Now it happened that a blind beggar named Bartimaeus (the son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road as Jesus was going by.

47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus from Nazareth was near, he began to shout out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 “Shut up!” some of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted the louder, again and again, “O Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped there in the road and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man. “You lucky fellow,”[h] they said, “come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus yanked off his old coat and flung it aside, jumped up and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“O Teacher,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

52 And Jesus said to him, “All right, it’s done.[i] Your faith has healed you.”

And instantly the blind man could see and followed Jesus down the road!

Footnotes

  1. Mark 10:1 Then he left Capernaum, literally, “And rising up, he went from there.” Mentioned here so quietly, this was his final farewell to Galilee. He never returned until after his death and resurrection.
  2. Mark 10:13 mothers, implied.
  3. Mark 10:20 never once, literally, “never from my youth.”
  4. Mark 10:24 for those who trust in riches. Some of the ancient manuscripts do not contain these words.
  5. Mark 10:33 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
  6. Mark 10:35 came over and spoke to him in a low voice, literally, “came up to him.”
  7. Mark 10:45 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
  8. Mark 10:49 You lucky fellow, literally, “Be of good cheer.”
  9. Mark 10:52 All right, it’s done, literally, “Go your way.”