Mark 8
New Matthew Bible
The miracle of the seven loaves. The Pharisees ask for a sign. The leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. The blind man receives his sight.
8 In the days when there was a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 I have compassion on this people, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away to their own houses without eating, they might faint on the way, because some of them have come from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, Where could anyone obtain bread here in this remote place to satisfy all these? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves do you have? They said, Seven.
6 And he directed the people to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, gave thanks, broke, and gave to his disciples to set before them. And they set them before the people. 7 And they had a few small fishes, and he blessed them, and directed them also to be set before the people. 8 And they ate and were filled. And they took up of the broken food that was left seven baskets full. 9 And those who had eaten were in number about 4,000. And Jesus sent them away.
10 And shortly he entered into a boat with his disciples, and went into the region of Dalmanutha. 11 And the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, and testing him. 12 And he sighed in his spirit and said, Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly I say to you, there will be no sign given to this generation.
13 And he left them and went into the boat again, and departed over the water.
14 And the disciples had forgotten to take bread with them, and had in the boat with them no more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. 16 And they deliberated among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread.
17 And when Jesus knew this, he said to them, Why are you troubled because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts still blinded? 18 Do you have eyes, but not see? And do you have ears, and not hear? Do you not remember? 19 When I broke five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up? They said to him, Twelve.
20 When I broke seven among four thousand, how many baskets of the leftover fragments did you take up? They said, Seven.
21 And he said to them, How is it that you do not understand?
22 And he came to Bethsaida, and people brought a blind man to him and asked him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town, and spat in his eyes, and put his hands upon him, and asked him whether he could see anything. 24 And the man looked up and said, I see the people, for I see them walk, as if they were trees. 25 After that Jesus put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him see. And his sight was restored, and he saw every person clearly. 26 And Jesus sent him home to his house, saying, Do not go into the town, nor tell anyone in town about this.
27 And Jesus went out with his disciples into the towns around the city called Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, saying, Who do people say that I am? 28 And they answered, Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and some, one of the prophets. 29 And he said to them, But who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, You are the Christ. 30 And he charged them to tell no one of it.
31 And he began to teach them how the Son of man must suffer many things, and would be reproved by the elders and by the high priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days arise again. 32 And he spoke this word plainly. But Peter took him aside and began to chide him. 33 Then he turned around and looked on his disciples, and rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind me, Satan, for you savour not the things of God, but the things of men.
34 And he called the people to him with his disciples also, and said to them, Whoever would follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life, will lose it. But whoever loses his life for my sake and the sake of the gospel, shall save it. 36 What does it profit a man, if he should win all the world and lose his own soul? 37 Or what can a person give to redeem his soul? 38 Whosoever therefore is ashamed of me and of my words among this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Mark 8
Expanded Bible
More than Four Thousand People Fed(A)
8 ·Another time [About this time] there was ·a [another] great crowd with Jesus that had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his ·followers [disciples] and said, 2 “I ·feel sorry [have compassion] for these people, because they have already been with me for three days, and they have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will ·faint [collapse] on the way. Some of them ·live a long way from here [have come from far away].”
4 Jesus’ ·followers [disciples] answered, “·How [L From where] can ·we [L anyone] get enough bread in this ·remote place [desolate place; desert] to feed them?”
5 Jesus asked, “How many loaves of bread do you have?”
They answered, “Seven.”
6 Jesus told the people to ·sit [recline] on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, and ·divided [broke] the bread. He gave the pieces to his ·followers [disciples] to give to the people, and they did so. 7 ·The followers [L They] also had a few small fish. After Jesus ·gave thanks for [blessed] the fish, he told his ·followers [disciples] to give them to the people also. 8 All the people ate and were satisfied. Then ·his followers [L they] filled seven ·baskets [large baskets; C a different word than in the feeding of the 5,000; 6:43] with the leftover pieces of food. 9 There were about four thousand people who ate. After they had eaten, Jesus ·sent them home [dismissed them]. 10 Then ·right away [immediately] he got into a boat with his ·followers [disciples] and went to the area of Dalmanutha. [C This place is unknown; it was probably on the western shore of Lake Galilee.]
The Leaders Ask for a Miracle(B)
11 The Pharisees came to Jesus and began to ·ask him questions [argue/dispute with him]. ·Hoping to trap [Trying to test] him, they asked Jesus for a ·miracle [sign] from ·God [L heaven; C possibly a sign in the sky, but more likely a Jewish way of saying “from God”]. 12 Jesus ·sighed [groaned] deeply and said, “Why ·do you people [L does this generation] ask for a miracle as a sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to ·you [this generation].” 13 Then Jesus left the Pharisees and went in the boat to the other side of the lake.
Guard Against Wrong Teachings(C)
14 His ·followers [disciples] had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. 15 Jesus warned them, “·Be careful [Watch out]! Beware of the ·yeast [leaven] of the Pharisees and the ·yeast [leaven] of Herod [C yeast or leaven refers here to the dangerous permeating power of their influence].”
16 They discussed the meaning of this, saying, “He said this because we have no bread.”
17 Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, “Why are you ·talking [discussing; arguing] about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your ·minds closed [hearts hardened]? 18 ·You have eyes, but you don’t really see. You have ears, but you don’t really listen [Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2]. ·Remember [L Don’t you remember] when 19 I ·divided [broke] five loaves of bread for the five thousand? How many baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Twelve.”
20 “And when I ·divided [broke] seven loaves of bread for the four thousand, how many [large] baskets did you fill with leftover pieces of food?”
They answered, “Seven.”
21 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
22 Jesus and his followers came to Bethsaida [6:45]. There some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch the man. 23 So Jesus took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. Then he spit on the man’s eyes [see 7:33] and ·put [laid] his hands on the man and asked, “Can you see [anything] now?”
24 The man looked up and said, “Yes, I see people, but they look like trees walking around.”
25 Again Jesus ·put [laid] his hands on the man’s eyes. Then the man ·opened his eyes wide [stared intently] and ·they were healed [his sight was restored], and he was able to see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told him to go home, saying, “Don’t go into the town.”[a] [C Jesus wanted to avoid the publicity that the healing would produce.]
Peter Says Jesus Is the Christ(D)
27 Jesus and his ·followers [disciples] went to the towns around Caesarea Philippi [C a city about 25 miles north of Lake Galilee]. While they were traveling, Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They answered, “Some say you are John the Baptist. Others say you are Elijah [a great prophet (1 Kin. 17), who was expected to return in the end times (Mal. 4:5); see 6:15], and others say you are one of the prophets.”
29 Then Jesus asked, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the ·Christ [Messiah].”
30 Jesus [strongly] warned them not to tell anyone who he was.
31 Then Jesus began to teach them that the Son of Man [Dan. 7:13–14] must suffer many things and that he would be rejected by the Jewish elders, the ·leading [T chief] priests, and the ·teachers of the law [scribes]. He told them that the Son of Man must be killed and then rise from the dead after three days. 32 Jesus told them ·plainly [boldly; openly] what would happen. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to ·reprimand [rebuke] him. 33 But Jesus turned and looked at his ·followers [disciples]. Then he ·reprimanded [rebuked] Peter. He said, “·Go away from me [L Get behind me], Satan [C Jesus accuses Peter of doing Satan’s work by obstructing God’s plan]! You ·don’t care about [are not setting your mind on/thinking about] the things of God, but only ·about things people think are important [on/about human concerns].”
34 Then Jesus called the crowd to him, along with his ·followers [disciples]. He said, “If ·people [L anyone wants] want to follow me, they must ·give up the things they want [deny themselves; set aside their own interests]. They must ·be willing even to give up their lives to [L take up their cross and] follow me. 35 Those who want to save their lives will ·give up true life [L lose their life/soul; C Greek psychē can mean “life” or “soul,” producing this play on words]. But those who ·give up [lose; sacrifice] their lives for ·me [my sake] and for the ·Good News [Gospel] will ·have true life [save their lives/souls]. 36 ·It is worthless [What good/profit/benefit is it…?] to ·have [gain] the whole world if they ·lose [forfeit] their souls. 37 ·They could never pay enough [L Or what could they give…?] ·to buy back [in exchange for] their souls. 38 If people of this ·sinful and evil time [adulterous and sinful generation] are ashamed of me and my ·teaching [words; message], the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he ·comes [returns] with his Father’s glory and with the holy angels [Dan. 7:13–14].”
Footnotes
- Mark 8:26 town Some Greek copies continue, “Don’t even go and tell anyone in the town.”
Copyright © 2016 by Ruth Magnusson (Davis). Includes emendations to February 2022. All rights reserved.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.