Mark 6
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 6
The Rejection at Nazareth. 1 (A)He departed from there and came to his native place,[a] accompanied by his disciples. 2 [b]When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 3 (B)Is he not the carpenter,[c] the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 [d](C)Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” 5 So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,[e] apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The Mission of the Twelve. He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching. 7 (D)He summoned the Twelve[f] and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 [g]He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. 9 They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. 10 [h]He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” 12 So they went off and preached repentance. 13 [i]They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick(E) and cured them.
Herod’s Opinion of Jesus.[j] 14 King Herod[k] heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying,(F) “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”(G) 15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”(H) 16 But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
The Death of John the Baptist.[l] 17 Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.(I) 18 John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”(J) 19 Herodias[m] harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. 20 Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. 21 She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” 23 He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”(K) 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 (L)So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
The Return of the Twelve. 30 The apostles[n] gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.(M) 31 [o]He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.(N) 32 So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.(O) 33 People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.
The Feeding of the Five Thousand. 34 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 [p]By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. 36 Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” 39 So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 [q]The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. 41 Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to [his] disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all.[r] 42 They all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. 44 Those who ate [of the loaves] were five thousand men.
The Walking on the Water.[s] 45 Then he made his disciples get into the boat(P) and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida,[t] while he dismissed the crowd. 46 [u]And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray. 47 When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. 48 Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.[v] 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 [w]They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were [completely] astounded. 52 They had not understood the incident of the loaves.[x] On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.(Q)
The Healings at Gennesaret. 53 (R)After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. 54 As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. 55 They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.(S)
Footnotes
- 6:1 His native place: the Greek word patris here refers to Nazareth (cf. Mk 1:9; Lk 4:16, 23–24) though it can also mean native land.
- 6:2–6 See note on Mt 13:54–58.
- 6:3 Is he not the carpenter?: no other gospel calls Jesus a carpenter. Some witnesses have “the carpenter’s son,” as in Mt 13:55. Son of Mary: contrary to Jewish custom, which calls a man the son of his father, this expression may reflect Mark’s own faith that God is the Father of Jesus (Mk 1:1, 11; 8:38; 13:32; 14:36). The brother of James…Simon: in Semitic usage, the terms “brother,” “sister” are applied not only to children of the same parents, but to nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers, and half-sisters; cf. Gn 14:16; 29:15; Lv 10:4. While one cannot suppose that the meaning of a Greek word should be sought in the first place from Semitic usage, the Septuagint often translates the Hebrew ’āh by the Greek word adelphos, “brother,” as in the cited passages, a fact that may argue for a similar breadth of meaning in some New Testament passages. For instance, there is no doubt that in v 17, “brother” is used of Philip, who was actually the half-brother of Herod Antipas. On the other hand, Mark may have understood the terms literally; see also 3:31–32; Mt 12:46; 13:55–56; Lk 8:19; Jn 7:3, 5. The question of meaning here would not have arisen but for the faith of the church in Mary’s perpetual virginity.
- 6:4 A prophet is not without honor except…in his own house: a saying that finds parallels in other literatures, especially Jewish and Greek, but without reference to a prophet. Comparing himself to previous Hebrew prophets whom the people rejected, Jesus intimates his own eventual rejection by the nation especially in view of the dishonor his own relatives had shown him (Mk 3:21) and now his townspeople as well.
- 6:5 He was not able to perform any mighty deed there: according to Mark, Jesus’ power could not take effect because of a person’s lack of faith.
- 6:7–13 The preparation for the mission of the Twelve is seen in the call (1) of the first disciples to be fishers of men (Mk 1:16–20), (2) then of the Twelve set apart to be with Jesus and to receive authority to preach and expel demons (Mk 3:13–19). Now they are given the specific mission to exercise that authority in word and power as representatives of Jesus during the time of their formation.
- 6:8–9 In Mark the use of a walking stick (Mk 6:8) and sandals (Mk 6:9) is permitted, but not in Mt 10:10 nor in Lk 10:4. Mark does not mention any prohibition to visit pagan territory and to enter Samaritan towns. These differences indicate a certain adaptation to conditions in and outside of Palestine and suggest in Mark’s account a later activity in the church. For the rest, Jesus required of his apostles a total dependence on God for food and shelter; cf. Mk 6:35–44; 8:1–9.
- 6:10–11 Remaining in the same house as a guest (Mk 6:10) rather than moving to another offering greater comfort avoided any impression of seeking advantage for oneself and prevented dishonor to one’s host. Shaking the dust off one’s feet served as testimony against those who rejected the call to repentance.
- 6:13 Anointed with oil…cured them: a common medicinal remedy, but seen here as a vehicle of divine power for healing.
- 6:14–16 The various opinions about Jesus anticipate the theme of his identity that reaches its climax in Mk 8:27–30.
- 6:14 King Herod: see note on Mt 14:1.
- 6:17–29 Similarities are to be noted between Mark’s account of the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist in this pericope, and that of the passion of Jesus (Mk 15:1–47). Herod and Pilate, each in turn, acknowledges the holiness of life of one over whom he unjustly exercises the power of condemnation and death (Mk 6:26–27; 15:9–10, 14–15). The hatred of Herodias toward John parallels that of the Jewish leaders toward Jesus. After the deaths of John and of Jesus, well-disposed persons request the bodies of the victims of Herod and of Pilate in turn to give them respectful burial (Mk 6:29; 15:45–46).
- 6:19 Herodias: see note on Mt 14:3.
- 6:30 Apostles: here, and in some manuscripts at Mk 3:14, Mark calls apostles (i.e., those sent forth) the Twelve whom Jesus sends as his emissaries, empowering them to preach, to expel demons, and to cure the sick (Mk 6:13). Only after Pentecost is the title used in the technical sense.
- 6:31–34 The withdrawal of Jesus with his disciples to a desert place to rest attracts a great number of people to follow them. Toward this people of the new exodus Jesus is moved with pity; he satisfies their spiritual hunger by teaching them many things, thus gradually showing himself the faithful shepherd of a new Israel; cf. Nm 27:17; Ez 34:15.
- 6:35–44 See note on Mt 14:13–21. Compare this section with Mk 8:1–9. The various accounts of the multiplication of loaves and fishes, two each in Mark and in Matthew and one each in Luke and in John, indicate the wide interest of the early church in their eucharistic gatherings; see, e.g., Mk 6:41; 8:6; 14:22; and recall also the sign of bread in Ex 16; Dt 8:3–16; Ps 78:24–25; 105:40; Wis 16:20–21.
- 6:40 The people…in rows by hundreds and by fifties: reminiscent of the groupings of Israelites encamped in the desert (Ex 18:21–25) and of the wilderness tradition of the prophets depicting the transformation of the wasteland into pastures where the true shepherd feeds his flock (Ez 34:25–26) and makes his people beneficiaries of messianic grace.
- 6:41 On the language of this verse as eucharistic (cf. Mk 14:22), see notes on Mt 14:19, 20. Jesus observed the Jewish table ritual of blessing God before partaking of food.
- 6:45–52 See note on Mt 14:22–33.
- 6:45 To the other side toward Bethsaida: a village at the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
- 6:46 He went off to the mountain to pray: see Mk 1:35–38. In Jn 6:15 Jesus withdrew to evade any involvement in the false messianic hopes of the multitude.
- 6:48 Walking on the sea: see notes on Mt 14:22–33 and on Jn 6:19.
- 6:50 It is I, do not be afraid!: literally, “I am.” This may reflect the divine revelatory formula of Ex 3:14; Is 41:4, 10, 14; 43:1–3, 10, 13. Mark implies the hidden identity of Jesus as Son of God.
- 6:52 They had not understood…the loaves: the revelatory character of this sign and that of the walking on the sea completely escaped the disciples. Their hearts were hardened: in Mk 3:5–6 hardness of heart was attributed to those who did not accept Jesus and plotted his death. Here the same disposition prevents the disciples from comprehending Jesus’ self-revelation through signs; cf. Mk 8:17.
Mark 6
Living Bible
6 Soon afterwards he left that section of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2-3 The next Sabbath he went to the synagogue to teach, and the people were astonished at his wisdom and his miracles because he was just a local man like themselves.
“He’s no better than we are,” they said. “He’s just a carpenter, Mary’s boy, and a brother of James and Joseph, Judas and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” And they were offended!
4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and among his relatives and by his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he could hardly accept the fact that they wouldn’t believe in him.
Then he went out among the villages, teaching.
7 And he called his twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two, with power to cast out demons. 8-9 He told them to take nothing with them except their walking sticks—no food, no knapsack, no money, not even an extra pair of shoes or a change of clothes.
10 “Stay at one home in each village—don’t shift around from house to house while you are there,” he said. 11 “And whenever a village won’t accept you or listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave; it is a sign that you have abandoned it to its fate.”
12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to turn from sin. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
14 King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for his miracles were talked about everywhere. The king thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life again. So the people were saying, “No wonder he can do such miracles.” 15 Others thought Jesus was Elijah the ancient prophet, now returned to life again; still others claimed he was a new prophet like the great ones of the past.
16 “No,” Herod said, “it is John, the man I beheaded. He has come back from the dead.”
17-18 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John because he kept saying it was wrong for the king to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 19 Herodias wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless. 20 And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, and so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so he liked to listen to him.
21 Herodias’s chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday and he gave a stag party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22-23 Then Herodias’s daughter came in and danced before them and greatly pleased them all.
“Ask me for anything you like,” the king vowed, “even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!”
24 She went out and consulted her mother, who told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!”
25 So she hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist—right now—on a tray!”
26 Then the king was sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests. 27 So he sent one of his bodyguards to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier killed John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl and she took it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.
30 The apostles now returned to Jesus from their tour and told him all they had done and what they had said to the people they visited.
31 Then Jesus suggested, “Let’s get away from the crowds for a while and rest.” For so many people were coming and going that they scarcely had time to eat. 32 So they left by boat for a quieter spot. 33 But many people saw them leaving and ran on ahead along the shore and met them as they landed. 34 So the usual vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat; and he had pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he taught them many things they needed to know.
35-36 Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “Tell the people to go away to the nearby villages and farms and buy themselves some food, for there is nothing to eat here in this desolate spot, and it is getting late.”
37 But Jesus said,
“With what?” they asked. “It would take a fortune[a] to buy food for all this crowd!”
38 “How much food do we have?” he asked. “Go and find out.”
They came back to report that there were five loaves of bread and two fish. 39-40 Then Jesus told the crowd to sit down, and soon colorful groups of fifty or a hundred each were sitting on the green grass.
41 He took the five loaves and two fish and looking up to heaven, gave thanks for the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave some of the bread and fish to each disciple to place before the people. 42 And the crowd ate until they could hold no more!
43-44 There were about 5,000 men there for that meal, and afterwards twelve basketfuls of scraps were picked up off the grass!
45 Immediately after this Jesus instructed his disciples to get back into the boat and strike out across the lake to Bethsaida, where he would join them later. He himself would stay and tell the crowds good-bye and get them started home.
46 Afterwards he went up into the hills to pray. 47 During the night, as the disciples in their boat were out in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land, 48 he saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves.
About three o’clock in the morning he walked out to them on the water. He started past them, 49 but when they saw something walking along beside them, they screamed in terror, thinking it was a ghost, 50 for they all saw him.
But he spoke to them at once. “It’s all right,” he said. “It is I! Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat and the wind stopped!
They just sat there, unable to take it in! 52 For they still didn’t realize who he was, even after the miracle the evening before! For they didn’t want to believe![b]
53 When they arrived at Gennesaret on the other side of the lake, they moored the boat 54 and climbed out.
The people standing around there recognized him at once, 55 and ran throughout the whole area to spread the news of his arrival, and began carrying sick folks to him on mats and stretchers. 56 Wherever he went—in villages and cities, and out on the farms—they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets, and begged him to let them at least touch the fringes of his clothes; and as many as touched him were healed.
Mark 6
Darby Translation
6 And he went out thence and came to his own country, and his disciples follow him.
2 And when sabbath was come he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing were amazed, saying, Whence [has] this [man] these things? and what [is] the wisdom that is given to him, and such works of power are done by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended in him.
4 But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not despised save in his own country, and among [his] kinsmen, and in his own house.
5 And he could not do any work of power there, save that laying his hands on a few infirm persons he healed [them].
6 And he wondered because of their unbelief. And he went round the villages in a circuit, teaching.
7 And he calls the twelve to [him]; and he began to send them out two [and] two, and gave to them power over the unclean spirits;
8 and he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their belt;
9 but be shod with sandals, and put not on two body-coats.
10 And he said to them, Wheresoever ye shall enter into a house, there remain till ye shall go thence.
11 And whatsoever place shall not receive you nor hear you, departing thence, shake off the dust which is under your feet for a testimony to them.
12 And they went forth and preached that they should repent;
13 and they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many infirm, and healed them.
14 And Herod the king heard [of him] (for his name had become public), and said, John the baptist is risen from among [the] dead, and on this account works of power are wrought by him.
15 And others said, It is Elias; and others said, It is a prophet, as one of the prophets.
16 But Herod when he heard [it] said, John whom *I* beheaded, he it is; *he* is risen [from among the dead].
17 For the same Herod had sent and seized John, and had bound him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.
18 For John said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have the wife of thy brother.
19 But Herodias kept it [in her mind] against him, and wished to kill him, and could not:
20 for Herod feared John knowing that he was a just and holy man, and kept him safe; and having heard him, did many things, and heard him gladly.
21 And a holiday being come, when Herod, on his birthday, made a supper to his grandees, and to the chiliarchs, and the chief [men] of Galilee;
22 and the daughter of the same Herodias having come in, and danced, pleased Herod and those that were with [him] at table; and the king said to the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt and I will give it thee.
23 And he swore to her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask me I will give thee, to half of my kingdom.
24 And she went out, and said to her mother, What should I ask? And she said, The head of John the baptist.
25 And immediately going in with haste to the king, she asked saying, I desire that thou give me directly upon a dish the head of John the baptist.
26 And the king, [while] made very sorry, on account of the oaths and those lying at table with [him] would not break his word with her.
27 And immediately the king, having sent one of the guard, ordered his head to be brought. And he went out and beheaded him in the prison,
28 and brought his head upon a dish, and gave it to the damsel, and the damsel gave it to her mother.
29 And his disciples having heard [it], came and took up his body, and laid it in a tomb.
30 And the apostles are gathered together to Jesus. And they related to him all things, [both] what they had done and what they had taught.
31 And he said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest a little. For those coming and those going were many, and they had not leisure even to eat.
32 And they went away apart into a desert place by ship.
33 And many saw them going, and recognised them, and ran together there on foot, out of all the cities, and got [there] before them.
34 And on leaving [the ship] [Jesus] saw a great crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
35 And when it was already late in the day, his disciples coming to him say, The place is desert, and it is already late in the day;
36 send them away that they may go into the country and villages around, and buy themselves bread, for they have not anything they can eat.
37 And he answering said to them, Give *ye* them to eat. And they say to him, Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them to eat?
38 And he says to them, How many loaves have ye? Go [and] see. And when they knew they say, Five, and two fishes.
39 And he ordered them to make them all sit down by companies on the green grass.
40 And they sat down in ranks by hundreds and by fifties.
41 And having taken the five loaves and the two fishes, looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave [them] to his disciples that they might set [them] before them. And the two fishes he divided among all.
42 And they all ate and were satisfied.
43 And they took up of fragments the fillings of twelve hand-baskets, and of the fishes.
44 And those that ate of the loaves were five thousand men.
45 And immediately he compelled his disciples to go on board ship, and to go on before to the other side to Bethsaida, while *he* sends the crowd away.
46 And, having dismissed them, he departed into the mountain to pray.
47 And when evening was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and *he* alone upon the land.
48 And seeing them labouring in rowing, for the wind was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.
49 But they, seeing him walking on the sea, thought that it was an apparition, and cried out.
50 For all saw him and were troubled. And immediately he spoke with them, and says to them, Be of good courage: it is *I*; be not afraid.
51 And he went up to them into the ship, and the wind fell. And they were exceedingly beyond measure astonished in themselves and wondered;
52 for they understood not through the loaves: for their heart was hardened.
53 And having passed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and made the shore.
54 And on their coming out of the ship, immediately recognising him,
55 they ran through that whole country around, and began to carry about those that were ill on couches, where they heard that he was.
56 And wherever he entered into villages, or cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the market-places, and besought him that they might touch if it were only the hem of his garment; and as many as touched him were healed.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)