10 And he arose from thence, and cometh into the coasts of Judaea by the farther side of Jordan: and the people resort unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.

And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same matter.

11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

13 And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them.

14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.

16 And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?

27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.

29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.

32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them what things should happen unto him,

33 Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

34 And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.

36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?

37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.

38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

40 But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.

41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John.

42 But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:

44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.

45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.

48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.

49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee.

50 And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus.

51 And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight.

52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

Teaching About Divorce

10 (A)And he left there and went (B)to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

And Pharisees came up and in order (C)to test him asked, (D)“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, (E)“Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your (F)hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But (G)from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them (H)male and female.’ (I)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,[a] and (J)the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. (K)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, (L)“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12 and (M)if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 (N)And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples (O)rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, (P)“Let the children come to me; (Q)do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 (R)Truly, I say to you, whoever does not (S)receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And (T)he took them in his arms and blessed them, (U)laying his hands on them.

The Rich Young Man

17 (V)And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and (W)knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to (X)inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: (Y)‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, (Z)all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, (AA)looking at him, (AB)loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, (AC)sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have (AD)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 (AE)Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23 And Jesus (AF)looked around and said to his disciples, (AG)“How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter (AH)the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples (AI)were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, (AJ)“Children, (AK)how difficult it is[b] to enter (AL)the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter (AM)the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him,[c] “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus (AN)looked at them and said, (AO)“With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, (AP)we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, (AQ)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and (AR)for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold (AS)now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, (AT)with persecutions, and in (AU)the age to come eternal life. 31 But (AV)many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Jesus Foretells His Death a Third Time

32 (AW)And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and (AX)Jesus was walking ahead of them. And (AY)they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, “See, (AZ)we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will (BA)condemn him to death and (BB)deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will (BC)mock him and (BD)spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And (BE)after three days he will rise.”

The Request of James and John

35 (BF)And James and John, (BG)the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us (BH)whatever we ask of you.” 36 And he said to them, (BI)“What do you want me to do for you?” 37 And they said to him, “Grant us (BJ)to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, (BK)in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, (BL)“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able (BM)to drink the cup that I drink, or (BN)to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, (BO)“The cup that I drink (BP)you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, (BQ)you will be baptized, 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, (BR)but it is for those for whom it has been (BS)prepared.” 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 (BT)And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles (BU)lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But (BV)it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[d] 44 and whoever would be first among you must be (BW)slave[e] of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but (BX)to serve, and (BY)to give his life as a ransom for (BZ)many.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus

46 (CA)And they came to Jericho. And (CB)as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, (CC)a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47 And when he heard that it was (CD)Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48 And many (CE)rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49 And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, (CF)“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50 And throwing off his (CG)cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus said to him, (CH)“What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, (CI)“Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52 And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; (CJ)your faith has (CK)made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 10:7 Some manuscripts omit and hold fast to his wife
  2. Mark 10:24 Some manuscripts add for those who trust in riches
  3. Mark 10:26 Some manuscripts to one another
  4. Mark 10:43 Greek diakonos
  5. Mark 10:44 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)

Chapter 10

Marriage and Divorce. He set out from there and went into the district of Judea [and] across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them. [a]The Pharisees approached and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him.(A) He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” They replied, “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.”(B) But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.(C) For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother [and be joined to his wife],(D) and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” 10 In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. 11 (E)He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Blessing of the Children. 13 (F)And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.(G) 14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child[b] will not enter it.”(H) 16 Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

The Rich Man. 17 (I)As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good?[c] No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’”(J) 20 He replied and said to him, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” 21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 [d]Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”(K) 24 The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 30 who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. 31 But many that are first will be last, and [the] last will be first.”(L)

The Third Prediction of the Passion. 32 (M)They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. 33 “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles 34 who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”

Ambition of James and John. 35 (N)Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36 He replied, “What do you wish [me] to do for you?” 37 They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” 38 [e](O)Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39 They said to him, “We can.” Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 [f]Jesus summoned them and said to them,(P) “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; 44 whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Blind Bartimaeus.[g] 46 They came to Jericho.(Q) And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. 47 On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” 48 And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” 49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, he is calling you.” 50 He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” 52 Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Footnotes

  1. 10:2–9 In the dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees on the subject of divorce, Jesus declares that the law of Moses permitted divorce (Dt 24:1) only because of the hardness of your hearts (Mk 10:4–5). In citing Gn 1:27 and 2:24 Jesus proclaims permanence to be the divine intent from the beginning concerning human marriage (Mk 10:6–8). He reaffirms this with the declaration that what God has joined together, no human being must separate (Mk 10:9). See further the notes on Mt 5:31–32; 19:3–9.
  2. 10:15 Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child: i.e., in total dependence upon and obedience to the gospel; cf. Mt 18:3–4.
  3. 10:18 Why do you call me good?: Jesus repudiates the term “good” for himself and directs it to God, the source of all goodness who alone can grant the gift of eternal life; cf. Mt 19:16–17.
  4. 10:23–27 In the Old Testament wealth and material goods are considered a sign of God’s favor (Jb 1:10; Ps 128:1–2; Is 3:10). The words of Jesus in Mk 10:23–25 provoke astonishment among the disciples because of their apparent contradiction of the Old Testament concept (Mk 10:24, 26). Since wealth, power, and merit generate false security, Jesus rejects them utterly as a claim to enter the kingdom. Achievement of salvation is beyond human capability and depends solely on the goodness of God who offers it as a gift (Mk 10:27).
  5. 10:38–40 Can you drink the cup…I am baptized?: the metaphor of drinking the cup is used in the Old Testament to refer to acceptance of the destiny assigned by God; see note on Psalm 11:6. In Jesus’ case, this involves divine judgment on sin that Jesus the innocent one is to expiate on behalf of the guilty (Mk 14:24; Is 53:5). His baptism is to be his crucifixion and death for the salvation of the human race; cf. Lk 12:50. The request of James and John for a share in the glory (Mk 10:35–37) must of necessity involve a share in Jesus’ sufferings, the endurance of tribulation and suffering for the gospel (Mk 10:39). The authority of assigning places of honor in the kingdom is reserved to God (Mk 10:40).
  6. 10:42–45 Whatever authority is to be exercised by the disciples must, like that of Jesus, be rendered as service to others (Mk 10:45) rather than for personal aggrandizement (Mk 10:42–44). The service of Jesus is his passion and death for the sins of the human race (Mk 10:45); cf. Mk 14:24; Is 53:11–12; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:19–20.
  7. 10:46–52 See notes on Mt 9:27–31 and 20:29–34.