Mark 8
Christian Standard Bible
Feeding Four Thousand
8 In(A) those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called(B) the disciples(C) and said to them, 2 “I have compassion(D) on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way,(E) and some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed(F) these people?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them.
“Seven,” they said. 6 He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke(G) them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. 10 And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.
The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod
11 The(H) Pharisees(I) came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign(J) from heaven(K) to test(L) him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit,(M) he said, “Why does this generation(N) demand a sign? Truly I tell you,(O) no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.
14 The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then(P) he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven[a](Q) of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”(R) 16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?(S) 18 Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear?[b](T) And do you not remember?(U) 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?”
“Twelve,” they told him.
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?” (V)
Healing a Blind Man
22 They came to Bethsaida.(W) They brought a blind(X) man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting(Y) on his eyes and laying his hands on(Z) him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”(AA)
25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he sent(AB) him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”[c](AC)
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
27 Jesus(AD) went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
28 They answered him, “John the Baptist;(AE) others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”(AF)
29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter(AG) answered him, “You are the Messiah.”(AH) 30 And he strictly warned(AI) them to tell no one about him.
His Death and Resurrection Predicted
31 Then(AJ) he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man(AK) to suffer many things and be rejected(AL) by the elders,(AM) chief priests, and scribes,(AN) be killed, and rise(AO) after three days.(AP) 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!(AQ) You are not thinking about God’s concerns[d] but human concerns.”
Take Up Your Cross
34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself,(AR) take up his cross,(AS) and follow me.(AT) 35 For whoever wants to save(AU) his life will lose it,(AV) but whoever loses(AW) his life(AX) because of me(AY) and the gospel(AZ) will save it.(BA) 36 For what does it benefit(BB) someone to gain(BC) the whole world(BD) and yet lose(BE) his life?(BF) 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life?(BG) 38 For whoever is ashamed(BH) of me and my words(BI) in this adulterous and sinful(BJ) generation,(BK) the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory(BL) of his Father(BM) with the holy(BN) angels.”(BO)
Mark 8
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Feeding 4,000
8 In(A) those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He summoned(B) the disciples(C) and said to them, 2 “I have compassion(D) on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with Me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry,[a] they will collapse on the way,(E) and some of them have come a long distance.”
4 His disciples answered Him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to fill(F) these people?”
5 “How many loaves do you have?” He asked them.
“Seven,” they said. 6 Then He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke(G) the loaves, and kept on giving them to His disciples to set before the people. So they served the loaves to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and when He had blessed them, He said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were filled. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About 4,000 men were there. He dismissed them 10 and immediately got into the boat with His disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.[b]
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
11 The(H) Pharisees(I) came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign(J) from heaven(K) to test(L) Him. 12 But sighing deeply in His spirit,(M) He said, “Why does this generation(N) demand a sign? I assure you:(O) No sign will be given to this generation!” 13 Then He left them, got on board the boat again, and went to the other side.
14 They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then(P) He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast(Q) of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”(R)
16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened?(S) 18 Do you have eyes, and not see, and do you have ears, and not hear?(T)[c] And do you not remember?(U) 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”
“Twelve,” they told Him.
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 And He said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”(V)
Healing a Blind Man
22 Then they came to Bethsaida.(W) They brought a blind(X) man to Him and begged Him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting(Y) on his eyes and laying His hands on(Z) him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look to me like trees walking.”(AA)
25 Again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw distinctly. He was cured and could see everything clearly. 26 Then He sent(AB) him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”[d](AC)
Peter’s Confession of the Messiah
27 Jesus(AD) went out with His disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
28 They answered Him, “John the Baptist;(AE) others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”(AF)
29 “But you,” He asked them again, “who do you say that I am?”
Peter(AG) answered Him, “You are the Messiah!”(AH)
30 And He strictly warned(AI) them to tell no one about Him.
His Death and Resurrection Predicted
31 Then(AJ) He began to teach them that the Son of Man(AK) must suffer many things and be rejected(AL) by the elders,(AM) the chief priests, and the scribes,(AN) be killed, and rise(AO) after three days.(AP) 32 He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.
33 But turning around and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan,(AQ) because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns,[e] but man’s!”
Take Up Your Cross
34 Summoning the crowd along with His disciples, He said to them, “If anyone wants to be My follower, he must deny himself,(AR) take up his cross,(AS) and follow Me.(AT) 35 For whoever wants to save(AU) his life will lose it,(AV) but whoever loses(AW) his life(AX) because of Me(AY) and the gospel(AZ) will save it.(BA) 36 For what does it benefit(BB) a man to gain(BC) the whole world(BD) yet lose(BE) his life?(BF) 37 What can a man give in exchange for his life?(BG) 38 For whoever is ashamed(BH) of Me and of My words(BI) in this adulterous and sinful(BJ) generation,(BK) the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory(BL) of His Father(BM) with the holy(BN) angels.”(BO)
Mark 8
Living Bible
8 1-2 One day about this time as another great crowd gathered, the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples to discuss the situation.
“I pity these people,” he said, “for they have been here three days and have nothing left to eat. 3 And if I send them home without feeding them, they will faint along the road! For some of them have come a long distance.”
4 “Are we supposed to find food for them here in the desert?” his disciples scoffed.
5 “How many loaves of bread do you have?” he asked.
“Seven,” they replied. 6 So he told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, broke them into pieces and passed them to his disciples; and the disciples placed them before the people. 7 A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to serve them.
8-9 And the whole crowd ate until they were full, and afterwards he sent them home. There were about 4,000 people in the crowd that day and when the scraps were picked up after the meal, there were seven very large basketfuls left over!
10 Immediately after this he got into a boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
11 When the local Jewish leaders learned of his arrival, they came to argue with him.[a]
“Do a miracle for us,” they said. “Make something happen in the sky. Then we will believe in you.”
12 He sighed deeply when he heard this and he said, “Certainly not. How many more miracles do you people need?”[b]
13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and crossed to the other side of the lake. 14 But the disciples had forgotten to stock up on food before they left and had only one loaf of bread in the boat.
15 As they were crossing, Jesus said to them very solemnly, “Beware of the yeast of King Herod and of the Pharisees.”
16 “What does he mean?” the disciples asked each other. They finally decided that he must be talking about their forgetting to bring bread.
17 Jesus realized what they were discussing and said, “No, that isn’t it at all! Can’t you understand? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘Your eyes are to see with—why don’t you look? Why don’t you open your ears and listen?’ Don’t you remember anything at all?
19 “What about the 5,000 men I fed with five loaves of bread? How many basketfuls of scraps did you pick up afterwards?”
“Twelve,” they said.
20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how much was left?”
“Seven basketfuls,” they said.
21 “And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread?”[c]
22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch and heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and spat upon his eyes, and laid his hands over them.
“Can you see anything now?” Jesus asked him.
24 The man looked around. “Yes!” he said, “I see men! But I can’t see them very clearly; they look like tree trunks walking around!”
25 Then Jesus placed his hands over the man’s eyes again and as the man stared intently, his sight was completely restored, and he saw everything clearly, drinking in the sights around him.
26 Jesus sent him home to his family. “Don’t even go back to the village first,” he said.
27 Jesus and his disciples now left Galilee and went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along he asked them, “Who do the people think I am? What are they saying about me?”
28 “Some of them think you are John the Baptist,” the disciples replied, “and others say you are Elijah or some other ancient prophet come back to life again.”
29 Then he asked, “Who do you think I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.” 30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone!
31 Then he began to tell them about the terrible things he would suffer,[d] and that he would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the other Jewish leaders—and be killed, and that he would rise again three days afterwards. 32 He talked about it quite frankly with them, so Peter took him aside and chided him.[e] “You shouldn’t say things like that,” he told Jesus.
33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples and then said to Peter very sternly, “Satan, get behind me! You are looking at this only from a human point of view and not from God’s.”
34 Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your own pleasures and shoulder your cross, and follow me closely. 35 If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.
36 “And how does a man benefit if he gains the whole world and loses his soul in the process? 37 For is anything worth more than his soul? 38 And anyone who is ashamed of me and my message in these days of unbelief and sin, I, the Messiah,[f] will be ashamed of him when I return in the glory of my Father, with the holy angels.”
Footnotes
- Mark 8:11 to argue with him, literally, “to test him.”
- Mark 8:12 How many more miracles do you people need? literally, “Why does this generation seek a sign?”
- Mark 8:21 And yet you think I’m worried that we have no bread? literally, “Do you not yet understand?”
- Mark 8:31 he would suffer, literally, “the Son of Man would suffer.”
- Mark 8:32 chided him, “began to rebuke him.”
- Mark 8:38 the Messiah, literally, “the Son of Man.”
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