Mark 14-16

Complete Jewish Bible

14 It was now two days before Pesach (that is, the festival of Matzah), and the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers were trying to find some way to arrest Yeshua surreptitiously and have him put to death; ² for they said, “Not during the festival, or the people will riot.”

³ While he was in Beit-Anyah in the home of Shim‘on (a man who had had tzara‘at), and as he was eating, a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfume, pure oil of nard, very costly. She broke the jar and poured the perfume over Yeshua’s head. ⁴ But some there angrily said to themselves, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for a year’s wages and given to the poor!” And they scolded her. ⁶ But he said, “Let her be. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing for me. ⁷ For you will always have the poor with you; and whenever you want to, you can help them. But you will not always have me. ⁸ What she could do, she did do — in advance she poured perfume on my body to prepare it for burial. ⁹ Yes! I tell you that wherever in the whole world this Good News is proclaimed, what she has done will be told in her memory.”

¹⁰ Then Y’hudah from K’riot, who was one of the Twelve, went to the head cohanim in order to betray Yeshua to them. ¹¹ They were pleased to hear this and promised to give him money. And he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Yeshua.

¹² On the first day for matzah, when they slaughtered the lamb for Pesach, Yeshua’s talmidim asked him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare your Seder?” ¹³ He sent two of his talmidim with these instructions: “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him; ¹⁴ and whichever house he enters, tell him that the Rabbi says, ‘Where is the guest room for me, where I am to eat the Pesach meal with my talmidim?’ ¹⁵ He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make the preparations there.” ¹⁶ The talmidim went off, came to the city and found things just as he had told them they would be; and they prepared the Seder.

¹⁷ When evening came, Yeshua arrived with the Twelve. ¹⁸ As they were reclining and eating, Yeshua said, “Yes! I tell you that one of you is going to betray me.” ¹⁹ They became upset and began asking him, one after the other, “You don’t mean me, do you?” ²⁰ “It’s one of the Twelve,” he said to them, “someone dipping matzah in the dish with me. ²¹ For the Son of Man will die, just as the Tanakh says he will; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him had he never been born!”

²² While they were eating, Yeshua took a piece of matzah, made the b’rakhah, broke it, gave it to them and said, “Take it! This is my body.” ²³ Also he took a cup of wine, made the b’rakhah, and gave it to them; and they all drank. ²⁴ He said to them, “This is my blood, which ratifies the New Covenant, my blood shed on behalf of many people. ²⁵ Yes! I tell you, I will not drink this ‘fruit of the vine’ again until the day I drink new wine in the Kingdom of God.”

²⁶ After singing the Hallel, they went out to the Mount of Olives. ²⁷ Yeshua said to them, “You will all lose faith in me, for the Tanakh says,

²⁸ But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” ²⁹ Kefa said to him, “Even if everyone else loses faith in you, I won’t.” ³⁰ Yeshua replied, “Yes! I tell you that this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times!” ³¹ But Kefa kept insisting, “Even if I must die with you, I will never disown you!” And they all said the same thing.

³² They went to a place called Gat Sh’manim; and Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took with him Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan. Great distress and anguish came over him; ³⁴ and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake.” ³⁵ Going on a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him: ³⁶ “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”) “All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what you want.” ³⁷ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Kefa, “Shim‘on, are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? ³⁸ Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”

³⁹ Again he went away and prayed, saying the same words; ⁴⁰ and again he came and found them sleeping, their eyes were so very heavy; and they didn’t know what to answer him.

⁴¹ The third time, he came and said to them, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . .There, that’s enough! The time has come! Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners! ⁴² Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”

⁴³ While Yeshua was still speaking, Y’hudah (one of the Twelve!) came, and with him a crowd carrying swords and clubs, from the head cohanim, the Torah-teachers and the elders. ⁴⁴ The betrayer had arranged to give them a signal: “The man I kiss is the one you want. Grab him, and take him away under guard.” ⁴⁵ As he arrived, he went right up to Yeshua, said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. ⁴⁶ Then they laid hold of Yeshua and arrested him; ⁴⁷ but one of the people standing nearby drew his sword and struck at the servant of the cohen hagadol, cutting off his ear.

⁴⁸ Yeshua addressed them: “So you came out to take me with swords and clubs, the way you would the leader of a rebellion? ⁴⁹ Every day I was with you in the Temple court, teaching, and you didn’t seize me then! But let the Tanakh be fulfilled.” ⁵⁰ And they all deserted him and ran away. ⁵¹ There was one young man who did try to follow him; but he was wearing only a nightshirt; and when they tried to seize him, ⁵² he slipped out of the nightshirt and ran away naked.

⁵³ They led Yeshua to the cohen hagadol, with whom all the head cohanim, elders and Torah-teachers were assembling. ⁵⁴ Kefa followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol, where he sat down with the guards and warmed himself by the fire.

⁵⁵ The head cohanim and the whole Sanhedrin tried to find evidence against Yeshua, so that they might have him put to death, but they couldn’t find any. ⁵⁶ For many people gave false evidence against him, but their testimonies didn’t agree. ⁵⁷ Some stood up and gave this false testimony: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this Temple made with hands; and in three days I will build another one, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Even so, their testimonies didn’t agree.

⁶⁰ The cohen hagadol stood up in the front and asked Yeshua, “Have you nothing to say to the accusations these men are making?” ⁶¹ But he remained silent and made no reply. Again the cohen hagadol questioned him: “Are you the Mashiach, Ben-HaM’vorakh?” ⁶² “I AM,” answered Yeshua. “Moreover, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of HaG’vurah and coming on the clouds of heaven.”^{[b] 63} At this, the cohen hagadol tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? ⁶⁴ You heard him blaspheme! What is your decision?” And they all declared him guilty and subject to the death penalty.

⁶⁵ Then some began spitting at him; and after blindfolding him, they started pounding him with their fists and saying to him, “Let’s see you prophesy!” And as the guards took him, they beat him too.

⁶⁶ Meanwhile, Kefa was still in the courtyard below. One of the serving-girls of the cohen hagadol ⁶⁷ saw Kefa warming himself, took a look at him, and said, “You were with the man from Natzeret, Yeshua!” ⁶⁸ But he denied it, saying, “I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about!” He went outside into the entryway, and a rooster crowed. ⁶⁹ The girl saw him there and started telling the bystanders, “This fellow is one of them.” ⁷⁰ Again he denied it. A little later, the bystanders themselves said to Kefa, “You must be one of them, because you’re from the Galil.” ⁷¹ At this he began to invoke a curse on himself as he swore, “I do not know this man you are telling me about!” — ⁷² and immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Kefa remembered what Yeshua had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times.” And throwing himself down, he burst into tears.

15 As soon as it was morning, the head cohanim held a council meeting with the elders, the Torah-teachers and the whole Sanhedrin. Then they put Yeshua in chains, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. ² Pilate put this question to him: “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “The words are yours.” ³ The head cohanim too made accusations against him, ⁴ and Pilate again inquired of him, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many charges they are making against you!” ⁵ But Yeshua made no further response, to Pilate’s amazement.

⁶ Now during a festival, Pilate used to set free one prisoner, whomever the crowd requested. ⁷ There was in prison among the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection a man called Bar-Abba. ⁸ When the crowd came up and began asking Pilate to do for them what he usually did, ⁹ he asked them, “Do you want me to set free for you the ‘King of the Jews’?” ¹⁰ For it was evident to him that it was out of jealousy that the head cohanim had handed him over. ¹¹ But the head cohanim stirred up the crowd to have him release Bar-Abba for them instead. ¹² Pilate again said to them, “Then what should I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted back, “Put him to death on the stake!” ¹⁴ He asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” But they only shouted louder, “Put him to death on the stake!” ¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the mob, set Bar-Abba free for them; but he had Yeshua whipped and then handed him over to be executed on the stake.

¹⁶ The soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the headquarters building) and called together the whole battalion. ¹⁷ They dressed him in purple and wove thorn branches into a crown, which they put on him. ¹⁸ Then they began to salute him, “Hail to the King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They hit him on the head with a stick, spat on him and kneeled in mock worship of him. ²⁰ When they had finished ridiculing him, they took off the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be nailed to the execution-stake.

²¹ A certain man from Cyrene, Shim‘on, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country; and they forced him to carry the stake. ²² They brought Yeshua to a place called Gulgolta (which means “place of a skull”), ²³ and they gave him wine spiced with myrrh, but he didn’t take it. ²⁴ Then they nailed him to the execution-stake; and they divided his clothes among themselves, throwing dice to determine what each man should get. ²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they nailed him to the stake. ²⁶ Over his head, the written notice of the charge against him read,

THE KING OF THE JEWS

²⁷ On execution-stakes with him they placed two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. ^{28 [c] 29} People passing by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “Aha! So you can destroy the Temple, can you, and rebuild it in three days? ³⁰ Save yourself and come down from the stake!” ³¹ Likewise, the head cohanim and the Torah-teachers made fun of him, saying to each other, “He saved others, but he can’t save himself!” ³² and, “So he’s the Messiah, is he? The King of Isra’el? Let him come down now from the stake! If we see that, then we’ll believe him!” Even the men nailed up with him insulted him.

³³ At noon, darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon. ³⁴ At three, he uttered a loud cry, “Elohi! Elohi! L’mah sh’vaktani?” (which means, “My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?”)^{[d] 35} On hearing this, some of the bystanders said, “Look! He’s calling for Eliyahu!” ³⁶ One ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar, put it on a stick and gave it to him to drink.^[e] “Wait!” he said, “Let’s see if Eliyahu will come and take him down.” ³⁷ But Yeshua let out a loud cry and gave up his spirit. ³⁸ And the parokhet in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw the way he gave up his spirit, he said, “This man really was a son of God!”

⁴⁰ There were women looking on from a distance; among them were Miryam from Magdala, Miryam the mother of the younger Ya‘akov and of Yosi, and Shlomit. ⁴¹ These women had followed him and helped him when he was in the Galil. And many other women were there who had come up with him to Yerushalayim.

⁴² Since it was Preparation Day (that is, the day before a Shabbat), as evening approached, ⁴³ Yosef of Ramatayim, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who himself was also looking forward to the Kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. ⁴⁴ Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead, so he summoned the officer and asked him if he had been dead awhile. ⁴⁵ After he had gotten confirmation from the officer that Yeshua was dead, he granted Yosef the corpse. ⁴⁶ Yosef purchased a linen sheet; and after taking Yeshua down, he wrapped him in the linen sheet, laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. ⁴⁷ Miryam of Magdala and Miryam the mother of Yosi saw where he had been laid.

16 When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua. ² Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb. ³ They were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?” ⁴ Then they looked up and saw that the stone, even though it was huge, had been rolled back already. ⁵ On entering the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right; and they were dumbfounded. ⁶ But he said, “Don’t be so surprised! You’re looking for Yeshua from Natzeret, who was executed on the stake. He has risen, he’s not here! Look at the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go and tell his talmidim, especially Kefa, that he is going to the Galil ahead of you. You will see him there, just as he told you.” ⁸ Trembling but ecstatic they went out and fled from the tomb, and they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

^[f]9 When Yeshua rose early Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of Magdala, from whom he had expelled seven demons. ¹⁰ She went and told those who had been with him, as they were crying and mourning. ¹¹ But when they heard that he was alive and that she had seen him, they wouldn’t believe it.

¹² After that, Yeshua appeared in another form to two of them as they were walking into the country. ¹³ They went and told the others, but they didn’t believe them either.

¹⁴ Later, Yeshua appeared to the Eleven as they were eating, and he reproached them for their lack of trust and their spiritual insensitivity in not having believed those who had seen him after he had risen. ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “As you go throughout the world, proclaim the Good News to all creation. ¹⁶ Whoever trusts and is immersed will be saved; whoever does not trust will be condemned. ¹⁷ And these signs will accompany those who do trust: in my name they will drive out demons, speak with new tongues, ¹⁸ not be injured if they handle snakes or drink poison, and heal the sick by laying hands on them.”

¹⁹ So then, after he had spoken to them, the Lord Yeshua was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God.^{[g] 20} And they went out and proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the message by the accompanying signs.