Mark 1
English Standard Version
John the Baptist Prepares the Way
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, (A)the Son of God.[a]
2 (B)As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,[b]
(C)“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 (D)the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
(E)‘Prepare[c] the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 (F)John appeared, baptizing in (G)the wilderness and proclaiming (H)a baptism of (I)repentance (J)for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, (K)confessing their sins. 6 Now John was (L)clothed with camel's hair and (M)wore a leather belt around his waist and ate (N)locusts and (O)wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, (P)“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 (Q)I have baptized you with water, but (R)he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The Baptism of Jesus
9 (S)In those days Jesus (T)came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he (U)saw (V)the heavens being torn open (W)and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And (X)a voice came from heaven, (Y)“You are my beloved Son;[d] with you I am well pleased.”
The Temptation of Jesus
12 (Z)The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 (AA)And he was in the wilderness forty days, being (AB)tempted by (AC)Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and (AD)the angels were ministering to him.
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 (AE)Now after John was arrested, Jesus (AF)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, (AG)“The time is fulfilled, and (AH)the kingdom of God is at hand;[e] (AI)repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 (AJ)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become (AK)fishers of men.”[f] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit
21 (AL)And they went into Capernaum, and immediately (AM)on the Sabbath (AN)he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And (AO)they were astonished at his teaching, (AP)for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 (AQ)“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? (AR)I know who you are—(AS)the Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus (AT)rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, (AU)convulsing him and (AV)crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all (AW)amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? (AX)A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many
29 (AY)And immediately he[g] (AZ)left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now (BA)Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and (BB)took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.
32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or (BC)oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 (BD)And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And (BE)he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
35 (BF)And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and (BG)there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, (BH)“Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for (BI)that is why I came out.” 39 (BJ)And (BK)he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.
Jesus Cleanses a Leper
40 (BL)And a leper[h] came to him, imploring him, and (BM)kneeling said to him, (BN)“If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And (BO)Jesus[i] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, (BP)“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, (BQ)show yourself to the priest and (BR)offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, (BS)for a proof to them.” 45 (BT)But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter (BU)a town, but was out in (BV)desolate places, and (BW)people were coming to him from every quarter.
Footnotes
- Mark 1:1 Some manuscripts omit the Son of God
- Mark 1:2 Some manuscripts in the prophets
- Mark 1:3 Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness
- Mark 1:11 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved
- Mark 1:15 Or the kingdom of God has come near
- Mark 1:17 The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women
- Mark 1:29 Some manuscripts they
- Mark 1:40 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
- Mark 1:43 Greek he; also verse 45
Mark 1
Contemporary English Version
The Preaching of John the Baptist
(Matthew 3.1-12; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)
1 This is the good news about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.[a] 2 (A) It began just as God had said in the book written by Isaiah the prophet,
“I am sending my messenger
to get the way ready
for you.
3 (B) In the desert
someone is shouting,
‘Get the road ready
for the Lord!
Make a straight path
for him.’ ”
4 So John the Baptist showed up in the desert and told everyone, “Turn back to God and be baptized! Then your sins will be forgiven.”
5 From all Judea and Jerusalem crowds of people went to John. They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the Jordan River.
6 (C) John wore clothes made of camel's hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.
7 John also told the people, “Someone more powerful is going to come. And I am not good enough even to stoop down and untie his sandals.[b] 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!”
The Baptism of Jesus
(Matthew 3.13-17; Luke 3.21,22)
9 About that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As soon as Jesus came out of the water, he saw the sky open and the Holy Spirit coming down to him like a dove. 11 (D) A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”
Jesus and Satan
(Matthew 4.1-11; Luke 4.1-13)
12 At once God's Spirit made Jesus go into the desert. 13 He stayed there for 40 days while Satan tested him. Jesus was with the wild animals, but angels took care of him.
Jesus Begins His Work
(Matthew 4.12-17; Luke 4.14,15)
14 After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and told the good news that comes from God.[c] 15 (E) He said, “The time has come! God's kingdom will soon be here.[d] Turn back to God and believe the good news!”
Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen
(Matthew 4.18-22; Luke 5.1-11)
16 As Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were fishermen and were casting their nets into the lake. 17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish.” 18 Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
19 Jesus walked on and soon saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat, mending their nets. 20 At once Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father in the boat with the hired workers and went with him.
A Man with an Evil Spirit
(Luke 4.31-37)
21 Jesus and his disciples went to the town of Capernaum. Then on the next Sabbath he went into the synagogue and started teaching. 22 (F) Everyone was amazed at his teaching. He taught with authority, and not like the teachers of the Law of Moses. 23 Suddenly a man with an evil spirit[e] in him entered the synagogue and yelled, 24 “Jesus from Nazareth, what do you want with us? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are! You are God's Holy One.”
25 Jesus told the evil spirit, “Be quiet and come out of the man!” 26 The spirit shook him. Then it gave a loud shout and left.
27 Everyone was completely surprised and kept saying to each other, “What is this? It must be some new kind of powerful teaching! Even the evil spirits obey him.” 28 News about Jesus quickly spread all over Galilee.
Jesus Heals Many People
(Matthew 8.14-17; Luke 4.38-41)
29 As soon as Jesus left the synagogue with James and John, they went home with Simon and Andrew. 30 When they got there, Jesus was told that Simon's mother-in-law was sick in bed with fever. 31 Jesus went to her. He took hold of her hand and helped her up. The fever left her, and she served them a meal.
32 That evening after sunset,[f] all who were sick or had demons in them were brought to Jesus. 33 In fact, the whole town gathered around the door of the house. 34 Jesus healed all kinds of terrible diseases and forced out a lot of demons. But the demons knew who he was, and he did not let them speak.
35 Very early the next morning before daylight, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. 36 Simon and the others started looking for him. 37 And when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!”
38 Jesus replied, “We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.” 39 (G) Then Jesus went to their synagogues everywhere in Galilee, where he preached and forced out demons.
Jesus Heals a Man
(Matthew 8.1-4; Luke 5.12-16)
40 A man with leprosy[g] came to Jesus and knelt down.[h] He begged, “You have the power to make me well, if only you wanted to.”
41 Jesus felt sorry for[i] the man. So he put his hand on him and said, “I want to! Now you are well.” 42 At once the man's leprosy disappeared, and he was well.
43 After Jesus strictly warned the man, he sent him on his way. 44 (H) He said, “Don't tell anyone about this. Just go and show the priest that you are well. Then take a gift to the temple as Moses commanded, and everyone will know that you have been healed.”[j]
45 The man talked about it so much and told so many people, that Jesus could no longer go openly into a town. He had to stay away from the towns, but people still came to him from everywhere.
Footnotes
- 1.1 the Son of God: These words are not in some manuscripts.
- 1.7 untie his sandals: This was the duty of a slave.
- 1.14 that comes from God: Or “that is about God.”
- 1.15 will soon be here: Or “is already here.”
- 1.23 evil spirit: A Jewish person who had an evil spirit was considered “unclean” and was not allowed to eat or worship with other Jewish people.
- 1.32 after sunset: The Sabbath was over, and a new day began at sunset.
- 1.40 leprosy: In biblical times the word “leprosy” was used for many different kinds of skin diseases.
- 1.40 and knelt down: These words are not in some manuscripts.
- 1.41 felt sorry for: Some manuscripts have “was angry with.”
- 1.44 everyone will know that you have been healed: People with leprosy had to be examined by a priest and told that they were well (that is, “clean”) before they could once again live a normal life in the Jewish community. The gift that Moses commanded was the sacrifice of some lambs together with flour mixed with olive oil.
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