Mark 14-16

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

14 It was now two days before the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were all the while seeking to arrest [Jesus] by secrecy and deceit and put [Him] to death,

² For they kept saying, It must not be during the Feast, for fear that there might be a riot of the people.

³ And while He was in Bethany, [a guest] in the house of Simon the leper, as He was reclining [at table], a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment (^[a]perfume) of pure nard, very costly and precious; and she broke the jar and poured [the perfume] over His head.

⁴ But there were some who were moved with indignation and said to themselves, To what purpose was the ointment (^[b]perfume) thus wasted?

⁵ For it was possible to have sold this [perfume] for more than 300 denarii [a laboring man’s wages for a year] and to have given [the money] to the poor. And they censured and reproved her.

⁶ But Jesus said, Let her alone; why are you troubling her? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me [praiseworthy and noble].

⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you will not always have Me.^(A)

⁸ She has done what she could; she came beforehand to anoint My body for the burial.

⁹ And surely I tell you, wherever the good news (the Gospel) is proclaimed in the entire world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve [apostles], went off to the chief priests in order to betray and hand Him over to them.

¹¹ And when they heard it, they rejoiced and were delighted, and they promised to give him money. And he [busying himself continually] sought an opportunity to betray Him.

¹² On the first day [of the Feast] of Unleavened Bread, when [as was customary] they killed the Passover lamb, [Jesus’] disciples said to Him, Where do You wish us to go [and] prepare the Passover [supper] for You to eat?

¹³ And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, Go into the city, and a man carrying an [earthen] jar or pitcher of water will meet you; follow him.

¹⁴ And whatever [house] he enters, say to the master of the house, The Teacher says: Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover [supper] with My disciples?

¹⁵ And he will [himself] show you a large upper room, furnished [with carpets and with dining couches properly spread] and ready; there prepare for us.

¹⁶ Then the disciples set out and came to the city and found [everything] just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ And when it was evening, He came with the Twelve [apostles].

¹⁸ And while they were at the table eating, Jesus said, Surely I say to you, one of you will betray Me, [one] who is eating [here] with Me.^(B)

¹⁹ And they began to show that they were sad and hurt, and to say to Him one after another, Is it I? or, It is not I, is it?

²⁰ He replied to them, It is one of the Twelve [apostles], one who is dipping [bread] into the [same deep] dish with Me.

²¹ For the Son of Man is going as it stands written concerning Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good (profitable and wholesome) for that man if he had never been born.^(C)

²² And while they were eating, He took a loaf [of bread], praised God and gave thanks and asked Him to bless it to their use. [Then] He broke [it] and gave to them and said, Take. Eat. This is My body.

²³ He also took a cup [of the juice of grapes], and when He had given thanks, He gave [it] to them, and they all drank of it.

²⁴ And He said to them, This is My blood [which ratifies] the new covenant, [the blood] which is being poured out for (on account of) many.^(D)

²⁵ Solemnly and surely I tell you, I shall not again drink of the fruit of the vine till that day when I drink it ^[c]of a new and a higher quality in God’s kingdom.

²⁶ And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

²⁷ And Jesus said to them, You will all fall away this night [that is, you will be caused to stumble and will begin to distrust and desert Me], for it stands written, I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.^(E)

²⁸ But after I am raised [to life], I will go before you into Galilee.

²⁹ But Peter said to Him, Even if they all fall away and are caused to stumble and distrust and desert You, yet I will not [do so]!

³⁰ And Jesus said to him, Truly I tell you, this very night, before a cock crows twice, you will utterly deny Me [disclaiming all connection with Me] three times.

³¹ But [Peter] said more vehemently and repeatedly, [Even] if it should be necessary for me to die with You, I will not deny or disown You! And they all kept saying the same thing.

³² Then they went to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to His disciples, Sit down here while I pray.

³³ And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be ^[d]struck with terror and amazement and deeply troubled and depressed.

³⁴ And He said to them, My soul is exceedingly sad (overwhelmed with grief) so that it almost kills Me! Remain here and keep awake and be watching.

³⁵ And going a little farther, He fell on the ground and kept praying that if it were possible the [^[e]fatal] hour might pass from Him.

³⁶ And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You [will].

³⁷ And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, Simon, are you asleep? Have you not the strength to keep awake and watch [with Me for] one hour?

³⁸ Keep awake and watch and pray [constantly], that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

³⁹ He went away again and prayed, saying the same words.

⁴⁰ And again He came back and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what answer to give Him.

⁴¹ And He came back a third time and said to them, Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough [of that]! The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinful men (men ^[f]whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God).

⁴² Get up, let us be going! See, My betrayer is at hand!

⁴³ And at once, while He was still speaking, Judas came, one of the Twelve [apostles], and with him a crowd of men with swords and clubs, [who came] from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders [of the Sanhedrin].

⁴⁴ Now the betrayer had given them a signal, saying, The One I shall kiss is [the Man]; seize Him and lead [Him] away safely [so as to prevent His escape].

⁴⁵ And when he came, he went up to Jesus immediately and said, Master! Master! and he ^[g]embraced Him and kissed Him fervently.

⁴⁶ And they threw their hands on Him and arrested Him.

⁴⁷ But one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the bond servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

⁴⁸ And Jesus said to them, Have you come out with swords and clubs as [you would] against a robber to capture Me?

⁴⁹ I was with you daily in the temple [^[h]porches and courts] teaching, and you did not seize Me; but [this has happened] that the Scriptures might be fulfilled.

⁵⁰ Then [His disciples], forsaking Him, fled, all [of them].

⁵¹ And a young man was following Him, with nothing but a linen cloth (^[i]sheet) thrown about [his] naked [body]; and they laid hold of him,

⁵² But, leaving behind the linen cloth (^[j]sheet), he fled from them naked.

⁵³ And they led Jesus away to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes were gathered together.

⁵⁴ And Peter followed Him at a distance, even right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting [^[k]in the firelight] with the guards and warming himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ Now the chief priests and the entire council (the Sanhedrin) were constantly seeking [to get] testimony against Jesus with a view to condemning Him and putting Him to death, but they did not find any.

⁵⁶ For many were repeatedly bearing false witness against Him, but their testimonies did not agree.

⁵⁷ And some stood up and were bearing false witness against Him, saying,

⁵⁸ We heard Him say, I will destroy this temple (sanctuary) which is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, made without hands.

⁵⁹ Still not even [in this] did their testimony agree.

⁶⁰ And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have You not even one answer to make? What [about this which] these [men] are testifying against You?

⁶¹ But He kept still and did not answer at all. Again the high priest asked Him, Are You the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), the Son of the Blessed?

⁶² And Jesus said, I Am; and you will [all] see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power (^[l]the Almighty) and coming on the clouds of heaven.^(F)

⁶³ Then the high priest tore his garments and said, What need have we for more witnesses?^(G)

⁶⁴ You have heard His blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned Him as being guilty and deserving of death.^(H)

⁶⁵ And some of them began to spit on Him and to blindfold Him and to strike Him with their fists, saying to Him, Prophesy! And the guards received Him with blows and by slapping Him.

⁶⁶ While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the [serving] maids of the high priest came;

⁶⁷ And when she saw Peter warming himself, she gazed intently at him and said, You were with Jesus of Nazareth too.

⁶⁸ But he denied it ^[m]falsely and disowned Him, saying, I neither know nor understand what you say. Then he went outside [the courtyard and was] into the ^[n]vestibule. ^[o]And a cock crowed.

⁶⁹ And the maidservant saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, This [man] is [one] of them.

⁷⁰ But again he denied it ^[p]falsely and disowned Him. And after a short while, again the bystanders said to Peter, ^[q]Really, you are one of them, for you are a Galilean ^[r]and your dialect shows it.

⁷¹ Then he commenced invoking a curse on himself [should he not be telling the truth] and swearing, I do not know the Man about Whom you are talking!

⁷² And at once for the second time a cock crowed. And Peter remembered how Jesus said to him, Before a cock crows twice, you will ^[s]utterly deny Me [disclaiming all connection with Me] three times. And ^[t]having put his thought upon it [and remembering], he broke down and wept aloud and ^[u]lamented.

15 And immediately when it was morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes and the whole council, held a consultation; and when they had bound Jesus, they took Him away [^[v]violently] and handed Him over to Pilate.^(I)

² And Pilate inquired of Him, Are You the King of the Jews? And He replied, It is as you say.

³ And the chief priests kept accusing Him of many things.

⁴ And Pilate again asked Him, Have ^[w]You no answer to make? See how many charges they are bringing against You!

⁵ But Jesus made no further answer at all, so that Pilate wondered and marveled.^(J)

⁶ Now at the Feast he [was accustomed to] set free for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

⁷ And among the rioters in the prison who had committed murder in the insurrection there was a man named Barabbas.

⁸ And the throng came up and began asking Pilate to do as he usually did for them.

⁹ And he replied to them, Do you wish me to set free for you the King of the Jews?

¹⁰ For he was aware that it was [^[x]because they were prompted] by envy that the chief priests had delivered Him up.

¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to get him to release for them Barabbas instead.

¹² And again Pilate said to them, Then what shall I do with the Man Whom you call the King of the Jews?

¹³ And they shouted back again, Crucify Him!

¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, Why? What has He done that is evil? But they shouted with all their might all the more, Crucify Him [^[y]at once]!

¹⁵ So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, set Barabbas free for them; and after having Jesus whipped, he handed [Him] over to be crucified.^(K)

¹⁶ Then the soldiers led Him away to the courtyard inside the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and they called the entire detachment of soldiers together.

¹⁷ And they dressed Him in [a] purple [robe], and, weaving together a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him.

¹⁸ And they began to salute Him, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!

¹⁹ And they struck His head with a staff made of a [bamboo-like] reed and spat on Him and kept bowing their knees in homage to Him.^(L)

²⁰ And when they had [finished] making sport of Him, they took the purple [robe] off of Him and put His own clothes on Him. And they led Him out [of the city] to crucify Him.

²¹ And they forced a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the field (country), to carry His cross.

²² And they led Him to Golgotha [in Latin: Calvary], meaning The Place of a Skull.

²³ And they [attempted to] give Him wine mingled with myrrh, but He would not take it.

²⁴ And they crucified Him; and they divided His garments and distributed them among themselves, throwing lots for them to decide who should take what.^(M)

²⁵ And it was the third hour (about nine o’clock in the morning) when they crucified Him.^(N)

²⁶ And the inscription of the accusation against Him was written above, The King of the Jews.

²⁷ And with Him they crucified two robbers, one on [His] right hand and one on His left.

^28 [z]And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, He was counted among the transgressors.^(O)

²⁹ And those who passed by kept reviling Him and reproaching Him abusively in harsh and insolent language, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You Who would destroy the temple and build it in three days,

³⁰ Now rescue ^[aa]Yourself [^[ab]from death], coming down from the cross!

³¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes, made sport of Him to one another, saying, He rescued others [^[ac]from death]; Himself He is unable to rescue.^(P)

³² Let the Christ (the Messiah), the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see [it] and trust in and rely on Him and adhere to Him! Those who were crucified with Him also reviled and reproached Him [speaking abusively, harshly, and insolently].

³³ And when the sixth hour (about midday) had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (about three o’clock).

³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?—which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [^[ad]deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?^(Q)

³⁵ And some of those standing by, [and] hearing it, said, See! He is calling Elijah!

³⁶ And one man ran, and, filling a sponge with vinegar (a ^[ae]mixture of sour wine and water), put it on a staff made of a [bamboo-like] reed and gave it to Him to drink, saying, Hold off! Let us see whether Elijah [does] come to take Him down.^(R)

³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed out His life.

³⁸ And the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

³⁹ And when the centurion who stood facing Him saw Him expire this way, he said, ^[af]Really, this Man was God’s Son!

⁴⁰ Now some women were there also, looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome,

⁴¹ Who, when [Jesus] was in Galilee, were in the habit of accompanying and ministering to Him; and [there were] also many other [women] who had come up with Him to Jerusalem.

⁴² As evening had already come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, [the day] before the Sabbath,^(S)

⁴³ Joseph, he of Arimathea, noble and honorable in rank and a respected member of the council (Sanhedrin), who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, daring the consequences, took courage and ventured to go to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

⁴⁴ But Pilate wondered whether He was dead so soon, and, having called the centurion, he asked him whether [Jesus] was already dead.

⁴⁵ And when he learned from the centurion [that He was indeed dead], he gave the body to Joseph.

⁴⁶ And Joseph bought a [fine] linen cloth [^[ag]for swathing dead bodies], and, taking Him down from the cross, he ^[ah]rolled Him up in the [fine] linen cloth and placed Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of a rock. Then he rolled a [very large] stone against the door of the tomb.^(T)

⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary [the mother] of Joses were [^[ai]attentively] observing where He was laid.

16 And when the Sabbath was past [that is, after the sun had set], Mary Magdalene, and Mary [the mother] of James, and Salome purchased sweet-smelling spices, so that they might go and anoint [Jesus’ body].

² And very early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb; [by then] the sun had risen.

³ And they said to one another, Who will roll back the stone for us out of [the groove across the floor at] the door of the tomb?

⁴ And when they looked up, they [distinctly] saw that the stone was already rolled back, for it was very large.

⁵ And going into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting [there] on the right [side], clothed in a [^[aj]long, stately, sweeping] robe of white, and they were utterly amazed and struck with terror.

⁶ And he said to them, Do not be amazed and terrified; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, Who was crucified. He has risen; He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.^(U)

⁷ But be going; tell the disciples and Peter, He goes before you into Galilee; you will see Him there, [just] as He told you.^(V)

⁸ Then they went out [and] fled from the tomb, for trembling and bewilderment and consternation had seized them. And they said nothing about it to anyone, for they were held by alarm and fear.

^9 [ak]Now Jesus, having risen [^[al]from death] early on the first day of the week, appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had driven out seven demons.

¹⁰ She went and reported it to those who had been with Him, as they grieved and wept.

¹¹ And when they heard that He was alive and that she had seen Him, they did not believe it.

¹² After this, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking [along the way] into the country.

¹³ And they returned [to Jerusalem] and told the others, but they did not believe them either.

¹⁴ Afterward He appeared to the Eleven [apostles themselves] as they reclined at table; and He reproved and reproached them for their unbelief (their lack of faith) and their hardness of heart, because they had refused to believe those who had seen Him and looked at Him attentively after He had risen [^[am]from death].

¹⁵ And He said to them, Go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature [of the whole ^[an]human race].

¹⁶ He who believes [who adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] and is baptized will be saved [^[ao]from the penalty of eternal death]; but he who does not believe [who does not adhere to and trust in and rely on the Gospel and Him Whom it sets forth] will be condemned.

¹⁷ And these attesting signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;

¹⁸ They will pick up serpents; and [even] if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.

¹⁹ So then the Lord Jesus, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and He sat down at the right hand of God.^(W)

²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied [it]. Amen (so be it).