Mark 14:1-31
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
14 Now the feast of the pasch, and of the Azymes was after two days; and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might by some wile lay hold on him, and kill him.
2 But they said: Not on the festival day, lest there should be a tumult among the people.
3 And when he was in Bethania, in the house of Simon the leper, and was at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of precious spikenard: and breaking the alabaster box, she poured it out upon his head.
4 Now there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said: Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5 For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6 But Jesus said: Let her alone, why do you molest her? She hath wrought a good work upon me.
7 For the poor you have always with you: and whensoever you will, you may do them good: but me you have not always.
8 She hath done what she could: she is come beforehand to anoint my body for burial.
9 Amen, I say to you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, that also which she hath done, shall be told for a memorial of her.
10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests, to betray him to them.
11 Who hearing it were glad; and they promised him they would give him money. And he sought how he might conveniently betray him.
12 Now on the first day of the unleavened bread, when they sacrificed the pasch, the disciples say to him: Whither wilt thou that we go, and prepare for thee to eat the pasch?
13 And he sendeth two of his disciples, and saith to them: Go ye into the city; and there shall meet you a man carrying a pitcher of water, follow him;
14 And whithersoever he shall go in, say to the master of the house, The master saith, Where is my refectory, where I may eat the pasch with my disciples?
15 And he will shew you a large dining room furnished; and there prepare ye for us.
16 And his disciples went their way, and came into the city; and they found as he had told them, and they prepared the pasch.
17 And when evening was come, he cometh with the twelve.
18 And when they were at table and eating, Jesus saith: Amen I say to you, one of you that eateth with me shall betray me.
19 But they began to be sorrowful, and to say to him one by one: Is it I?
20 Who saith to them: One of the twelve, who dippeth with me his hand in the dish.
21 And the Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed. It were better for him, if that man had not been born.
22 And whilst they were eating, Jesus took bread; and blessing, broke, and gave to them, and said: Take ye. This is my body.
23 And having taken the chalice, giving thanks, he gave it to them. And they all drank of it.
24 And he said to them: This is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many.
25 Amen I say to you, that I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God.
26 And when they had said an hymn, they went forth to the mount of Olives.
27 And Jesus saith to them: You will all be scandalized in my regard this night; for it is written, I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be dispersed.
28 But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.
29 But Peter saith to him: Although all shall be scandalized in thee, yet not I.
30 And Jesus saith to him: Amen I say to thee, to day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shall deny me thrice.
31 But he spoke the more vehemently: Although I should die together with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner also said they all.
Read full chapter
Mark 14:1-31
The Message
Anointing His Head
14 1-2 In only two days the eight-day Festival of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread would begin. The high priests and religion scholars were looking for a way they could seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. “We don’t want the crowds up in arms,” they said.
3-5 Jesus was at Bethany, a guest of Simon the Leper. While he was eating dinner, a woman came up carrying a bottle of very expensive perfume. Opening the bottle, she poured it on his head. Some of the guests became furious among themselves. “That’s criminal! A sheer waste! This perfume could have been sold for well over a year’s wages and handed out to the poor.” They swelled up in anger, nearly bursting with indignation over her.
6-9 But Jesus said, “Let her alone. Why are you giving her a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me. You will have the poor with you every day for the rest of your lives. Whenever you feel like it, you can do something for them. Not so with me. She did what she could when she could—she pre-anointed my body for burial. And you can be sure that wherever in the whole world the Message is preached, what she just did is going to be talked about admiringly.”
10-11 Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the cabal of high priests, determined to betray him. They couldn’t believe their ears, and promised to pay him well. He started looking for just the right moment to hand him over.
Traitor to the Son of Man
12 On the first of the Days of Unleavened Bread, the day they prepare the Passover sacrifice, his disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations so you can eat the Passover meal?”
13-15 He directed two of his disciples, “Go into the city. A man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him. Ask the owner of whichever house he enters, ‘The Teacher wants to know, Where is my guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’ He will show you a spacious second-story room, swept and ready. Prepare for us there.”
16 The disciples left, came to the city, found everything just as he had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.
17-18 After sunset he came with the Twelve. As they were at the supper table eating, Jesus said, “I have something hard but important to say to you: One of you is going to hand me over to the conspirators, one who at this moment is eating with me.”
19 Stunned, they started asking, one after another, “It isn’t me, is it?”
20-21 He said, “It’s one of the Twelve, one who eats with me out of the same bowl. In one sense, it turns out that the Son of Man is entering into a way of treachery well-marked by the Scriptures—no surprises here. In another sense, the man who turns him in, turns traitor to the Son of Man—better never to have been born than do this!”
“This Is My Body”
22 In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said,
Take, this is my body.
23-24 Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said,
This is my blood,
God’s new covenant,
Poured out for many people.
25 “I’ll not be drinking wine again until the new day when I drink it in the kingdom of God.”
26 They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives.
* * *
27-28 Jesus told them, “You’re all going to feel that your world is falling apart and that it’s my fault. There’s a Scripture that says,
I will strike the shepherd;
The sheep will scatter.
“But after I am raised up, I will go ahead of you, leading the way to Galilee.”
29 Peter blurted out, “Even if everyone else is ashamed of you when things fall to pieces, I won’t be.”
30 Jesus said, “Don’t be so sure. Today, this very night in fact, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
31 He blustered in protest, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” All the others said the same thing.
Read full chapterPublic Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson