Mark 8
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
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 for 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
EasyEnglish Bible
Jesus gives food to 4,000 people
8 At that time, another large crowd had come to hear Jesus. The people had nothing to eat. Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them, 2 ‘I feel sorry for this crowd. They have been here with me now for three days and they do not have any food. 3 I do not want to send them back to their homes while they are hungry. They might fall down during their journey because they are weak. Some of them have travelled a long way to come here.’
4 The disciples replied, ‘This place is far from any houses. We cannot get enough bread to feed all these people.’
5 ‘How many loaves of bread do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘We have seven loaves,’ they replied.
6 Jesus told the crowd that they should sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves in his hands and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and he gave the pieces to his disciples. The disciples gave the bread to the people. 7 The disciples also had a few small fish, so Jesus thanked God for these. Then he told his disciples to give the fish to the people too. 8 The people ate, and they all had enough food. After the people had eaten, there were still lots of small pieces of food. Jesus' disciples filled seven baskets with these pieces. 9 About 4,000 people were there and ate the food. Then Jesus sent the people away. 10 Immediately, he got into the boat with his disciples. They all returned to the part of the country called Dalmanutha.[a]
11 Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They began to argue with him. They wanted to see him do something powerful. That would show them that God had really sent him. 12 Jesus cried with a low, sad sound. He said, ‘People who are alive today want God to show them something powerful. But I tell you this: God will not do the powerful thing for them that they want.’ 13 Then Jesus left those Pharisees. He got back into the boat to go to the other side of the lake.
Jesus talks about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod
14 Jesus' disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. They only had one loaf in the boat. 15 Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful. Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees or the yeast of Herod.’[b]
16 The disciples began to say to each other, ‘Jesus is saying that because we do not have any bread.’
17 Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing about the bread. You still do not understand my teaching. You seem unable to learn. 18 You are like people who have eyes but they cannot see with them. You are like people who have ears but they cannot hear with them. 19 Remember that I used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men. How many baskets did you fill with pieces of food that were left?’
‘There were 12 baskets,’ they replied.
20 Jesus asked them, ‘I also used seven loaves to feed 4,000 people. That time, how many baskets did you fill with pieces of food?’
‘There were seven baskets,’ they replied.
21 ‘You really should understand about me now,’ he said to them.
Jesus makes a blind man able to see
22 Jesus and his disciples came to a village called Bethsaida. Some people led a blind man to Jesus. They asked Jesus to touch the man. 23 Jesus took the blind man's hand and he led the man out of the village. Jesus put water from his own mouth on the man's eyes. And he put his hands on the man. ‘Can you see anything?’ Jesus asked.
24 The man looked up. He said, ‘I can see people. But they look like trees that are walking about.’
25 So Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes again. The man looked carefully and then his eyes were completely well. Now he could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told the man that he must go back to his home. Jesus said, ‘Do not even go into the village.’
Peter says who Jesus is
27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to visit some villages. They were near to the town of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, Jesus asked his disciples, ‘When people talk about me, who do they say that I am?’
28 They replied, ‘Some people say that you are John the Baptist. Other people say that you are Elijah. And some other people say that you are one of God's prophets.’[c]
29 Jesus asked them, ‘But what do you think? Who do you say that I am?’
Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’[d]
30 Then Jesus warned his disciples that they must not tell anyone about him.
Jesus tells his disciples how he will die
31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples about the things that must happen to the Son of Man.[e] He would have to suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law would turn against him. People would kill him. But after three days, he would become alive again.
32 What Jesus said was very clear. Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. Peter began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that.
33 Jesus turned round and he looked at his disciples. He said that Peter was not saying good things. He said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me![f] Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’
34 Then Jesus asked the crowd and his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 35 Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me and God's good news will have true life. 36 A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. 37 There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life.
38 People who are living today do not obey God. They are very bad. But you must not be ashamed of me or of my words. If you are, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you. One day he will return and God's holy angels will be with him. He will have the bright glory of his Father. He will be ashamed of you on that day if you are ashamed of him now.’
Footnotes
- 8:10 Dalmanutha is on the west shore of Lake Galilee. It is south of the flat part of the country called Gennesaret.
- 8:15 People put yeast into flour and water when they want to make bread. The yeast causes the flour to grow bigger and become a loaf of bread. Jesus was talking about the things that the Pharisees taught people. These things could grow and hurt people. See Matthew 16:12.
- 8:28 This is the same report that people told King Herod in Matthew 6:14-16.
- 8:29 The people were waiting for God to send someone special to them. They called this person the Messiah or the Christ. Jesus knew that the people had wrong ideas about this person. They thought that this person would save them from the Roman government. They thought that he would be a great soldier. So Jesus wanted to teach the people what he, the Messiah, had come to do.
- 8:31 Before this time, Jesus had not told anyone so clearly what would happen to him.
- 8:33 Peter did not understand that God wanted Jesus to die for us. Satan wanted Peter to stop Jesus, so that Jesus would not obey God. That is why Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’.
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