Mark 6
Legacy Standard Bible
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
6 (A)And Jesus went out from there and *came into [a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began (C)to teach in the synagogue; and (D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such [b]miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this man not (E)the carpenter, (F)the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not (G)His sisters here with us?” And they were taking (H)offense at Him. 4 And Jesus was saying to them, “(I)A prophet is not without honor except in [c](J)his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no [d]miracle there except that He (K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief.
(L)And He was going around the villages teaching.
The Twelve Sent Out
7 (M)And (N)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out (O)in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 (P)and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no [e]bag, no money in their belt— 9 but [f]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two [g]tunics.” 10 And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [h]leave town. 11 And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, (Q)shake the dust [i]off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 (R)And they went out and [j]preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and (S)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 (T)And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “(U)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is (V)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is (W)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of (X)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “(Y)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 (Z)Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able; 20 for (AA)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; [k]but he [l]used to enjoy listening to him. 21 And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday (AB)gave a banquet for his great men and [m]military commanders and the leading men (AC)of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of (AD)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and [n]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to (AE)half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of [o]his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 (AF)And the (AG)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and (AH)they did not even have time to eat.) 32 (AI)And they went away in (AJ)the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
33 And the people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 And when Jesus went [p]ashore, He (AK)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because (AL)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and began saying, “[q]This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves [r]something to eat.” 37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat!” (AM)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred [s](AN)denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” 38 And He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He commanded them all to [t]sit down by [u]groups on the green grass. 40 And they [v]sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (AO)blessed the food and broke the loaves. And He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve full (AP)baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. 44 And there were (AQ)five thousand men who ate the loaves.
Jesus Walks on the Sea
45 (AR)And immediately Jesus made His disciples get into (AS)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to (AT)Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 And after (AU)bidding them farewell, He left (AV)for the mountain to pray.
47 And when it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 And seeing them [w]straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the [x](AW)fourth watch of the night He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He was intending to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were [y]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “(AX)Take courage; it is I, (AY)do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into (AZ)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were [z]utterly amazed, 52 for (BA)they [aa]had not gained any insight about the loaves, but their [ab]heart (BB)was hardened.
Many Healed at Gennesaret
53 (BC)And when they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that whole region and began to carry here and there on their mats those who were sick, to [ac]the place they heard He was. 56 And wherever He was entering villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading with Him that they might just (BD)touch (BE)the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were being [ad]saved from their sicknesses.
Footnotes
- Mark 6:1 Or His own part of the country
- Mark 6:2 Or works of power
- Mark 6:4 Or his own part of the country
- Mark 6:5 Or work of power
- Mark 6:8 Or knapsack, beggar’s bag
- Mark 6:9 Lit being shod with
- Mark 6:9 Or inner garments
- Mark 6:10 Lit go out from there
- Mark 6:11 Lit under your feet
- Mark 6:12 Or proclaimed as a herald
- Mark 6:20 Lit and
- Mark 6:20 Lit was hearing him gladly
- Mark 6:21 Military leader over 1,000 soldiers
- Mark 6:22 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
- Mark 6:26 Lit those reclining at the table
- Mark 6:34 Lit out
- Mark 6:35 Lit The
- Mark 6:36 Lit what they may eat
- Mark 6:37 A Roman silver coin, approx. a laborer’s daily wage
- Mark 6:39 Lit recline
- Mark 6:39 Lit dining-groups
- Mark 6:40 Lit reclined
- Mark 6:48 Lit harassed in rowing
- Mark 6:48 3-6 a.m.
- Mark 6:50 Or troubled
- Mark 6:51 Lit utterly amazed in themselves
- Mark 6:52 Lit had not understood on the basis of
- Mark 6:52 Or mind
- Mark 6:55 Lit where they were hearing that He was
- Mark 6:56 Or cured
Mark 6
The Message
Just a Carpenter
6 1-2 He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, he gave a lecture in the meeting place. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise all of a sudden, get such ability?”
3 But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “He’s just a carpenter—Mary’s boy. We’ve known him since he was a kid. We know his brothers, James, Justus, Jude, and Simon, and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell, sprawling. And they never got any further.
4-6 Jesus told them, “A prophet has little honor in his hometown, among his relatives, on the streets he played in as a child.” Jesus wasn’t able to do much of anything there—he laid hands on a few sick people and healed them, that’s all. He couldn’t get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of the other villages, teaching.
The Twelve
7-8 Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:
8-9 “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.
10 “And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave.
11 “If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
12-13 Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.
The Death of John
14 King Herod heard of all this, for by this time the name of Jesus was on everyone’s lips. He said, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead—that’s why he’s able to work miracles!”
15 Others said, “No, it’s Elijah.”
Others said, “He’s a prophet, just like one of the old-time prophets.”
16 But Herod wouldn’t budge: “It’s John, sure enough. I cut off his head, and now he’s back, alive.”
17-20 Herod was the one who had ordered the arrest of John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison at the nagging of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herodias, smoldering with hate, wanted to kill him, but didn’t dare because Herod was in awe of John. Convinced that he was a holy man, he gave him special treatment. Whenever he listened to him he was miserable with guilt—and yet he couldn’t stay away. Something in John kept pulling him back.
21-22 But a portentous day arrived when Herod threw a birthday party, inviting all the brass and bluebloods in Galilee. Herodias’s daughter entered the banquet hall and danced for the guests. She charmed Herod and the guests.
22-23 The king said to the girl, “Ask me anything. I’ll give you anything you want.” Carried away, he kept on, “I swear, I’ll split my kingdom with you if you say so!”
24 She went back to her mother and said, “What should I ask for?”
“Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”
25 Excited, she ran back to the king and said, “I want the head of John the Baptizer served up on a platter. And I want it now!”
26-29 That sobered the king up fast. But unwilling to lose face with his guests, he caved in and let her have her wish. The king sent the executioner off to the prison with orders to bring back John’s head. He went, cut off John’s head, brought it back on a platter, and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and got the body and gave it a decent burial.
Supper for Five Thousand
30-31 The apostles then rendezvoused with Jesus and reported on all that they had done and taught. Jesus said, “Come off by yourselves; let’s take a break and get a little rest.” For there was constant coming and going. They didn’t even have time to eat.
32-34 So they got in the boat and went off to a remote place by themselves. Someone saw them going and the word got around. From the surrounding towns people went out on foot, running, and got there ahead of them. When Jesus arrived, he saw this huge crowd. At the sight of them, his heart broke—like sheep with no shepherd they were. He went right to work teaching them.
35-36 When his disciples thought this had gone on long enough—it was now quite late in the day—they interrupted: “We are a long way out in the country, and it’s very late. Pronounce a benediction and send these folks off so they can get some supper.”
37 Jesus said, “You do it. Fix supper for them.”
They replied, “Are you serious? You want us to go spend a fortune on food for their supper?”
38 But he was quite serious. “How many loaves of bread do you have? Take an inventory.”
That didn’t take long. “Five,” they said, “plus two fish.”
39-44 Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. More than five thousand were at the supper.
Walking on the Sea
45-46 As soon as the meal was finished, Jesus insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead across to Bethsaida while he dismissed the congregation. After sending them off, he climbed a mountain to pray.
47-49 Late at night, the boat was far out at sea; Jesus was still by himself on land. He could see his men struggling with the oars, the wind having come up against them. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. He intended to go right by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and screamed, scared to death.
50-52 Jesus was quick to comfort them: “Courage! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.” As soon as he climbed into the boat, the wind died down. They were stunned, shaking their heads, wondering what was going on. They didn’t understand what he had done at the supper. None of this had yet penetrated their hearts.
53-56 They beached the boat at Gennesaret and tied up at the landing. As soon as they got out of the boat, word got around fast. People ran this way and that, bringing their sick on stretchers to where they heard he was. Wherever he went, village or town or country crossroads, they brought their sick to the marketplace and begged him to let them touch the edge of his coat—that’s all. And whoever touched him became well.
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