Mark 14
English Standard Version
The Plot to Kill Jesus
14 (A)It was now two days before (B)the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And the chief priests and the scribes (C)were seeking how to arrest him by stealth and kill him, 2 for they said, “Not during the feast, (D)lest there be an uproar from the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
3 (E)And while he was at (F)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[a] as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii[b] and (G)given to the poor.” And they (H)scolded her. 6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For (I)you always have the poor with you, and whenever (J)you want, you can do good for them. But (K)you will not always have me. 8 (L)She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand (M)for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever (N)the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told (O)in memory of her.”
Judas to Betray Jesus
10 (P)Then (Q)Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, (R)went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. 11 And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to (S)betray him.
The Passover with the Disciples
12 (T)And on (U)the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they (V)sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent (W)two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, (X)‘The Teacher says, Where is (Y)my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you (Z)a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
17 (AA)And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, (AB)Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, (AC)one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is (AD)one of the twelve, (AE)one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes (AF)as it is written of him, but (AG)woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (AH)It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
Institution of the Lord's Supper
22 (AI)And as they were eating, he took bread, and after (AJ)blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; (AK)this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had (AL)given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, (AM)“This is my (AN)blood of the[c] covenant, which is poured out for (AO)many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial
26 (AP)And when they had sung a hymn, (AQ)they went out to (AR)the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will (AS)strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised up, (AT)I will go before you to Galilee.” 29 (AU)Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” 30 And (AV)Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before (AW)the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” 31 But (AX)he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane
32 (AY)And they went (AZ)to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him (BA)Peter and James and John, and began (BB)to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34 And he said to them, (BC)“My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and (BD)watch.”[d] 35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground (BE)and prayed that, if it were possible, (BF)the hour might pass from him. 36 And he said, (BG)“Abba, Father, (BH)all things are possible for you. Remove (BI)this cup from me. (BJ)Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38 (BK)Watch and (BL)pray that you may not (BM)enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, (BN)saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for (BO)their eyes were very heavy, and (BP)they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? (BQ)It is enough; (BR)the hour has come. (BS)The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus
43 (BT)And immediately, while he was still speaking, (BU)Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” 45 And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, (BV)“Rabbi!” And he (BW)kissed him. 46 And they laid hands on him and seized him. 47 But one of those who stood by drew his (BX)sword and struck the servant[e] of the high priest and cut off his ear. 48 And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? 49 (BY)Day after day I was with you in the temple (BZ)teaching, and you did not seize me. But (CA)let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 (CB)And they all left him and fled.
A Young Man Flees
51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but (CC)a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
Jesus Before the Council
53 (CD)And (CE)they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 (CF)And (CG)Peter had followed him at a distance, (CH)right into (CI)the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with (CJ)the guards and (CK)warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council[f] were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 (CL)For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony (CM)did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 (CN)“We heard him say, (CO)‘I will destroy this temple (CP)that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, (CQ)not made with hands.’” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?”[g] 61 But (CR)he remained silent and made no answer. (CS)Again the high priest asked him, “Are you (CT)the Christ, the Son of (CU)the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and (CV)you will see the Son of Man (CW)seated at the right hand of Power, and (CX)coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest (CY)tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard (CZ)his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they (DA)all condemned him as (DB)deserving death. 65 (DC)And some began (DD)to spit on him and (DE)to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him (DF)with blows.
Peter Denies Jesus
66 (DG)And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter (DH)warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway[h] and (DI)the rooster crowed.[i] 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed (DJ)a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, (DK)“Before the rooster crows twice, you will (DL)deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.[j]
Footnotes
- Mark 14:3 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Mark 14:5 A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer
- Mark 14:24 Some manuscripts insert new
- Mark 14:34 Or keep awake; also verses 37, 38
- Mark 14:47 Or bondservant
- Mark 14:55 Greek Sanhedrin
- Mark 14:60 Or Have you no answer to what these men testify against you?
- Mark 14:68 Or forecourt
- Mark 14:68 Some manuscripts omit and the rooster crowed
- Mark 14:72 Or And when he had thought about it, he wept
Mark 14
Common English Bible
Preparation for burial
14 It was two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and legal experts through cunning tricks were searching for a way to arrest Jesus and kill him. 2 But they agreed that it shouldn’t happen during the festival; otherwise, there would be an uproar among the people.
3 Jesus was at Bethany visiting the house of Simon, who had a skin disease. During dinner, a woman came in with a vase made of alabaster and containing very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke open the vase and poured the perfume on his head. 4 Some grew angry. They said to each other, “Why waste the perfume? 5 This perfume could have been sold for almost a year’s pay[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.
6 Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you make trouble for her? She has done a good thing for me. 7 You always have the poor with you; and whenever you want, you can do something good for them. But you won’t always have me. 8 She has done what she could. She has anointed my body ahead of time for burial. 9 I tell you the truth that, wherever in the whole world the good news is announced, what she’s done will also be told in memory of her.”
Passover meal
10 Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to give Jesus up to them. 11 When they heard it, they were delighted and promised to give him money. So he started looking for an opportunity to turn him in.
12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, the disciples said to Jesus, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover meal?”
13 He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jar will meet you. Follow him. 14 Wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks, “Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?”’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs already furnished. Prepare for us there.” 16 The disciples left, came into the city, found everything just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
17 That evening, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 During the meal, Jesus said, “I assure you that one of you will betray me—someone eating with me.”
19 Deeply saddened, they asked him, one by one, “It’s not me, is it?”
20 Jesus answered, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who is dipping bread with me into this bowl. 21 The Human One[b] goes to his death just as it is written about him. But how terrible it is for that person who betrays the Human One![c] It would have been better for him if he had never been born.”
22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 I assure you that I won’t drink wine again until that day when I drink it in a new way in God’s kingdom.” 26 After singing songs of praise, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Predictions about disciples leaving Jesus
27 Jesus said to them, “You will all falter in your faithfulness to me. It is written, I will hit the shepherd, and the sheep will go off in all directions.[d] 28 But after I’m raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
29 Peter said to him, “Even if everyone else stumbles, I won’t.”
30 But Jesus said to him, “I assure you that on this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
31 But Peter insisted, “If I must die alongside you, I won’t deny you.” And they all said the same thing.
Jesus in prayer
32 Jesus and his disciples came to a place called Gethsemane. Jesus said to them, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John along with him. He began to feel despair and was anxious. 34 He said to them, “I’m very sad. It’s as if I’m dying. Stay here and keep alert.” 35 Then he went a short distance farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if possible, he might be spared the time of suffering. 36 He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible. Take this cup of suffering away from me. However—not what I want but what you want.”
37 He came and found them sleeping. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay alert for one hour? 38 Stay alert and pray so that you won’t give in to temptation. The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.”
39 Again, he left them and prayed, repeating the same words. 40 And, again, when he came back, he found them sleeping, for they couldn’t keep their eyes open, and they didn’t know how to respond to him. 41 He came a third time and said to them, “Will you sleep and rest all night? That’s enough! The time has come for the Human One[e] to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up! Let’s go! Look, here comes my betrayer.”
Arrest
43 Suddenly, while Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came with a mob carrying swords and clubs. They had been sent by the chief priests, legal experts, and elders. 44 His betrayer had given them a sign: “Arrest the man I kiss, and take him away under guard.”
45 As soon as he got there, Judas said to Jesus, “Rabbi!” Then he kissed him. 46 Then they came and grabbed Jesus and arrested him.
47 One of the bystanders drew a sword and struck the high priest’s slave and cut off his ear. 48 Jesus responded, “Have you come with swords and clubs to arrest me, like an outlaw? 49 Day after day, I was with you, teaching in the temple, but you didn’t arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 And all his disciples left him and ran away. 51 One young man, a disciple, was wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They grabbed him, 52 but he left the linen cloth behind and ran away naked.
A hearing before the Sanhedrin
53 They led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders, and legal experts gathered. 54 Peter followed him from a distance, right into the high priest’s courtyard. He was sitting with the guards, warming himself by the fire. 55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they couldn’t find any. 56 Many brought false testimony against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Some stood to offer false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him saying, ‘I will destroy this temple, constructed by humans, and within three days I will build another, one not made by humans.’” 59 But their testimonies didn’t agree even on this point.
60 Then the high priest stood up in the middle of the gathering and examined Jesus. “Aren’t you going to respond to the testimony these people have brought against you?” 61 But Jesus was silent and didn’t answer. Again, the high priest asked, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the blessed one?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Human One[f] sitting on the right side of the Almighty[g] and coming on the heavenly clouds.”
63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? 64 You’ve heard his insult against God. What do you think?”
They all condemned him. “He deserves to die!”
65 Some began to spit on him. Some covered his face and hit him, saying, “Prophesy!” Then the guards took him and beat him.
Peter denies Jesus
66 Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. A woman, one of the high priest’s servants, approached 67 and saw Peter warming himself by the fire. She stared at him and said, “You were also with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t understand what you’re saying.” And he went outside into the outer courtyard. A rooster crowed.
69 The female servant saw him and began a second time to say to those standing around, “This man is one of them.” 70 But he denied it again.
A short time later, those standing around again said to Peter, “You must be one of them, because you are also a Galilean.”
71 But he cursed and swore, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.” 72 At that very moment, a rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered what Jesus told him, “Before a rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down, sobbing.
Footnotes
- Mark 14:5 Or three hundred denaria; a denarion was equivalent to a day’s pay.
- Mark 14:21 Or Son of Man
- Mark 14:21 Or Son of Man
- Mark 14:27 Zech 13:7
- Mark 14:41 Or Son of Man
- Mark 14:62 Or Son of Man
- Mark 14:62 Or the Power
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible