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Mark 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Mark 2
Easy-to-Read Version
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man(A)
2 A few days later, Jesus came back to Capernaum. The news spread that he was back home. 2 A large crowd gathered to hear him speak. The house was so full that there was no place to stand, not even outside the door. While Jesus was teaching, 3 some people brought a paralyzed man to see him. He was being carried by four of them. 4 But they could not get the man inside to Jesus because the house was so full of people. So they went to the roof above Jesus and made a hole in it. Then they lowered the mat with the paralyzed man on it. 5 When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, 7 “Why does this man say things like that? What an insult to God! No one but God can forgive sins.”
8 Jesus knew immediately what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why do you have these questions in your minds? 9-10 The Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. But how can I prove this to you? Maybe you are thinking it was easy for me to say to the crippled man, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ There’s no proof it really happened. But what if I say to the man, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? Then you will be able to see if I really have this power or not.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 11 “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.”
12 Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He picked up his mat and walked out of the room. Everyone could see him. They were amazed and praised God. They said, “This is the most amazing thing we have ever seen!”
Levi (Matthew) Follows Jesus(B)
13 Jesus went to the lake again, and many people followed him there. So Jesus taught them. 14 He was walking beside the lake, and he saw a man named Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at his place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” Then Levi stood up and followed Jesus.
15 Later that day, Jesus and his followers ate at Levi’s house. There were also many tax collectors and others with bad reputations eating with them. (There were many of these people who followed Jesus.) 16 When some teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such bad people, they asked his followers, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “It is the sick people who need a doctor, not those who are healthy. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners.”
Jesus Is Not Like Other Religious Leaders(C)
18 The followers of John and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and said, “John’s followers fast, and the followers of the Pharisees fast. But your followers don’t fast. Why?”
19 Jesus answered, “At a wedding the friends of the bridegroom are not sad while he is with them. They cannot fast while the bridegroom is still there. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them. Then they will fast.
21 “When someone sews a patch over a hole in an old coat, they never use a piece of cloth that is not yet shrunk. If they do, the patch will shrink and pull away from the coat. Then the hole will be worse. 22 Also, no one ever pours new wine into old wineskins. The wine would break them, and the wine would be ruined along with the wineskins. You always put new wine into new wineskins.”
Jesus Is Lord Over the Sabbath Day(D)
23 On the Sabbath day, Jesus and his followers were walking through some grain fields. The followers picked some grain to eat. 24 Some Pharisees said to Jesus, “Why are your followers doing this? It is against the law to pick grain on the Sabbath.”
25 Jesus answered, “You have read what David did when he and the people with him were hungry and needed food. 26 It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into God’s house and ate the bread that was offered to God. And the Law of Moses says that only priests can eat that bread. David also gave some of the bread to the people with him.”
27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The Sabbath day was made to help people. People were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord of every day, even the Sabbath.”
Mark 2
New International Version
Mark 2
New International Version
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man(A)
2 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers(B) that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man,(C) carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”(D)
6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”(E)
8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man(F) has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God,(G) saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”(H)
Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners(I)
13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him,(J) and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,”(K) Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees(L) saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”(M)
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”(N)
Jesus Questioned About Fasting(O)
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting.(P) Some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?”
19 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them,(Q) and on that day they will fast.
21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath(R)(S)
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain.(T) 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”(U)
25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest,(V) he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.(W) And he also gave some to his companions.”(X)
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,(Y) not man for the Sabbath.(Z) 28 So the Son of Man(AA) is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Mark 2
Lexham English Bible
Mark 2
Lexham English Bible
A Paralytic Healed
2 And when he[a] entered again into Capernaum after some days, it became known that he was at home. 2 And many had gathered, so that there was no longer room, not even at the door, and he was speaking the word to them. 3 And they came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 And when[b] they were not able to bring him[c] to him because of the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. And after[d] digging through, they lowered the stretcher on which the paralytic was lying. 5 And when[e] Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.”
6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like this? He is blaspheming! Who is able to forgive sins except God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they were reasoning like this within themselves, said to them, “Why are you considering these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘Get up and pick up your stretcher and walk’? 10 But so 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, pick up your stretcher, and go to your home.” 12 And he got up and immediately picked up his[f] stretcher and[g] went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything[h] like this!”
Levi Called to Follow Jesus
13 And he went out again beside the sea,[i] and all the crowd was coming to him, and he began to teach[j] them. 14 And as he[k] was passing by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!” And he stood up and[l] followed him.
15 And it happened that he was dining[m] in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with[n] Jesus and his disciples, for there were many and they were following him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they[o] saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, began to say[p] to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when[q] Jesus heard it[r], he said to them, “Those who are healthy do not have need of a physician, but those who are sick.[s] I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
On Fasting
18 And John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and said to him, “Why[t] do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, “The bridegroom’s attendants[u] are not able to fast while the bridegroom is with them, are they?[v] As long a time as they have the bridegroom with them, they are not able to fast. 20 But days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth on an old garment. Otherwise[w] the patch pulls away from it—the new from the old—and the tear becomes worse. 22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise[x] the wine will burst the wineskins and the wine is destroyed and the wineskins too. But new wine is put into new wineskins.”
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
23 And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while[y] plucking off the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees began to say[z] to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry— 26 how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it[aa] to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was established for people, and not people for the Sabbath. 28 So then, the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Footnotes
- Mark 2:1 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“entered”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:4 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“able”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:4 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 2:4 Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“digging through”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:5 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:12 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Mark 2:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“picked up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 2:12 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 2:13 That is, the Sea of Galilee
- Mark 2:13 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to teach”)
- Mark 2:14 Here “as” is supplied as a component of the participle (“was passing by”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“stood up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Mark 2:15 Literally “was reclining for a meal”
- Mark 2:15 Literally “were reclining at table with”
- Mark 2:16 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:16 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- Mark 2:17 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:17 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Mark 2:17 Literally “having badly”
- Mark 2:18 Literally “for what” reason
- Mark 2:19 Literally “the sons of the bridal chamber”
- Mark 2:19 The negative construction in Greek anticipates a negative answer here, indicated in the translation by the phrase “are they”
- Mark 2:21 Literally “but if not”
- Mark 2:22 Literally “but if not”
- Mark 2:23 Here “while” is supplied as a component of the participle (“picking”) which is understood as temporal
- Mark 2:24 The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here (“began to say”)
- Mark 2:26 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
Mark 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Mark 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
2 When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door, and he was speaking the word to them.(A) 3 Then some people[a] came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.(B) 4 And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Child, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”(C) 8 At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves, and he said to them, “Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and take your mat and walk’? 10 But so 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, stand up, take your mat, and go to your home.” 12 And he stood up and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”(D)
Jesus Calls Levi
13 Jesus[b] went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.(E) 14 As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.(F)
15 And as he sat at dinner[c] in Levi’s[d] house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting[e] with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the scribes of[f] the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat[g] with tax collectors and sinners?”(G) 17 When Jesus heard this, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.”(H)
The Question about Fasting
18 Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and people[h] came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 Jesus said to them, “The wedding attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.(I)
21 “No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 Similarly, no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins, but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”[i]
Pronouncement about the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath he was going through the grain fields, and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.(J) 24 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food, 26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions?”(K) 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath,(L) 28 so the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.