Mark 6:45-8:10

English Standard Version

Jesus Walks on the Water

^45 (A)Immediately he ^(B)made his disciples get into ^(C)the boat and go before him to the other side, ^(D)to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶ And after he had taken leave of them, ^(E)he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷ And when ^(F)evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^(G)the fourth watch of the night^[a] he came to them, walking on the sea. ^(H)He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹ but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰ for they all saw him and ^(I)were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^(J)“Take heart; it is I. ^(K)Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹ And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵² for ^(L)they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^(M)were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^53 (N)When they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(O)Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^(P)recognized him ⁵⁵ and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^(Q)the sick people ^(R)on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^(S)they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ^(T)the fringe of his garment. And ^(U)as many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(V)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(W)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(X)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[b] holding to ^(Y)the tradition of ^(Z)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[c] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(AA)the washing of ^(AB)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[d]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(AC)the tradition of ^(AD)the elders, ^(AE)but eat with ^(AF)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(AG)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(AJ)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(AK)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(AL)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[e]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(AM)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(AN)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (AO)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[f] 17} And when he had entered ^(AP)the house and left the people, ^(AQ)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(AR)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(AS)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[g] (^(AT)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(AU)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(AV)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(AW)sensuality, ^(AX)envy, ^(AY)slander, ^(AZ)pride, ^(BA)foolishness. ^23 (BB)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[h] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (BC)Now the woman was a ^(BD)Gentile, ^(BE)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(BF)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(BG)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(BH)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(BI)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (BJ)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(BK)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(BL)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(BM)a man who was deaf and ^(BN)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(BO)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(BP)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(BQ)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(BR)looking up to heaven, ^(BS)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (BT)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(BU)Jesus^[i] charged them to tell no one. But ^(BV)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(BW)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(BX)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (BY)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(BZ)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(CA)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(CB)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(CC)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(CD)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(CE)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(CF)Dalmanutha.^[j]