Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

(A)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, (B)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 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.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, (C)“Seven.” And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and (D)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And (E)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And (F)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, (G)seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into (H)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of (I)Dalmanutha.[a]

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

11 (J)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, (K)seeking from him (L)a sign from heaven (M)to test him. 12 And (N)he sighed deeply (O)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And (P)he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; (Q)beware of (R)the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of (S)Herod.”[b] 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And (T)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? (U)Do you not yet perceive (V)or understand? (W)Are your hearts hardened? 18 (X)Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke (Y)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And (Z)the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 And they came (AA)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And (AB)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when (AC)he had (AD)spit on his eyes and (AE)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus[c] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, (AF)“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

27 (AG)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, (AH)“John the Baptist; and others say, (AI)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, (AJ)“You are (AK)the Christ.” 30 (AL)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 (AM)And he began to teach them that (AN)the Son of Man must (AO)suffer many things and (AP)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and (AQ)after three days rise again. 32 And he said this (AR)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, (AS)“Get behind me, Satan! For you (AT)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him (AU)deny himself and (AV)take up his cross and follow me. 35 For (AW)whoever would save his life[d] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake (AX)and the gospel's will save it. 36 (AY)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For (AZ)what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For (BA)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this (BB)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed (BC)when he comes in the glory of his Father with (BD)the holy angels.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 8:10 Some manuscripts Magadan, or Magdala
  2. Mark 8:15 Some manuscripts the Herodians
  3. Mark 8:25 Greek he
  4. Mark 8:35 The same Greek word can mean either soul or life, depending on the context; twice in this verse and once in verse 36 and once in verse 37

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand

About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them, “I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will faint along the way. For some of them have come a long distance.”

His disciples replied, “How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?”

Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?”

“Seven loaves,” they replied.

So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd. A few small fish were found, too, so Jesus also blessed these and told the disciples to distribute them.

They ate as much as they wanted. Afterward, the disciples picked up seven large baskets of leftover food. There were about 4,000 men in the crowd that day, and Jesus sent them home after they had eaten. 10 Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

Pharisees Demand a Miraculous Sign

11 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

12 When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign.” 13 So he got back into the boat and left them, and he crossed to the other side of the lake.

Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

14 But the disciples had forgotten to bring any food. They had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat. 15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in? 18 ‘You have eyes—can’t you see? You have ears—can’t you hear?’[a] Don’t you remember anything at all? 19 When I fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did you pick up afterward?”

“Twelve,” they said.

20 “And when I fed the 4,000 with seven loaves, how many large baskets of leftovers did you pick up?”

“Seven,” they said.

21 “Don’t you understand yet?” he asked them.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man

22 When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus, and they begged him to touch the man and heal him. 23 Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then, spitting on the man’s eyes, he laid his hands on him and asked, “Can you see anything now?”

24 The man looked around. “Yes,” he said, “I see people, but I can’t see them very clearly. They look like trees walking around.”

25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again, and his eyes were opened. His sight was completely restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus sent him away, saying, “Don’t go back into the village on your way home.”

Peter’s Declaration about Jesus

27 Jesus and his disciples left Galilee and went up to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. As they were walking along, he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”

28 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other prophets.”

29 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.[b]

30 But Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death

31 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man[c] must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.[d]

33 Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter. “Get away from me, Satan!” he said. “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[e] 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Footnotes

  1. 8:18 Jer 5:21.
  2. 8:29 Or the Christ. Messiah (a Hebrew term) and Christ (a Greek term) both mean “anointed one.”
  3. 8:31 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
  4. 8:32 Or began to correct him.
  5. 8:36 Or your self? also in 8:37.

In those days, there being again a great crowd, and they having nothing that they could eat, having called his disciples to [him], he says to them,

I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me already three days and they have not anything they can eat,

and if I should dismiss them to their home fasting, they will faint on the way; for some of them are come from far.

And his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to satisfy these with bread here in a desert place?

And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. And having taken the seven loaves, he gave thanks, and broke [them] and gave [them] to his disciples, that they might set [them] before [them]; and they set [them] before the crowd.

And they had a few small fishes, and having blessed them, he desired these also to be set before [them].

And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up of fragments that remained seven baskets.

And they [that had eaten] were about four thousand; and he sent them away.

10 And immediately going on board ship with his disciples, he came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

11 And the Pharisees went out and began to dispute against him, seeking from him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12 And groaning in his spirit, he says, Why does this generation seek a sign? Verily I say unto you, A sign shall in no wise be given to this generation.

13 And he left them, and going again on board ship, went away to the other side.

14 And they forgot to take bread, and save one loaf, they had not [any] with them in the ship.

15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and [of] the leaven of Herod.

16 And they reasoned with one another, [saying], It is because we have no bread.

17 And Jesus knowing [it], says to them, Why reason ye because ye have no bread? Do ye not yet perceive nor understand? Have ye your heart [yet] hardened?

18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?

19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many hand-baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say to him, Twelve.

20 And when the seven for the four thousand, the filling of how many baskets of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.

21 And he said to them, How do ye not yet understand?

22 And he comes to Bethsaida; and they bring him a blind man, and beseech him that he might touch him.

23 And taking hold of the hand of the blind man he led him forth out of the village, and having spit upon his eyes, he laid his hands upon him, and asked him if he beheld anything.

24 And having looked up, he said, I behold men, for I see [them], as trees, walking.

25 Then he laid his hands again upon his eyes, and he saw distinctly, and was restored and saw all things clearly.

26 And he sent him to his house, saying, Neither enter into the village, nor tell [it] to any one in the village.

27 And Jesus went forth and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea-Philippi. And by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am?

28 And they answered him, saying, John the baptist; and others, Elias; but others, One of the prophets.

29 And he asked them, But *ye*, who do ye say that I am? And Peter answering says to him, *Thou* art the Christ.

30 And he charged them straitly, in order that they should tell no man about him.

31 And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and of the chief priests and of the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise [again].

32 And he spoke the thing openly. And Peter, taking him to [him], began to rebuke him.

33 But he, turning round and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying, Get away behind me, Satan, for thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but on the things that are of men.

34 And having called the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

35 For whosoever shall desire to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's shall save it.

36 For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?

37 for what should a man give in exchange for his soul?

38 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.