Teaching at Nazareth

(A)Jesus went out from there and *came into [a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. And when the Sabbath came, He began (C)to teach in the synagogue; and [b]the (D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such [c]miracles as these performed by His hands? Is this not (E)the carpenter, (F)the son of Mary and brother of [d]James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are (G)His sisters not here with us?” And they took (H)offense at Him. Jesus said to them, (I)A prophet is not dishonored except in [e](J)his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” And He could not do any [f]miracle there except that He (K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He was amazed at their unbelief.

(L)And He was going around the villages, teaching.

The Twelve Sent Out

(M)And (N)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out (O)in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; (P)and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no [g]bag, no money in their belt— but [h]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear two [i]tunics.” 10 And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [j]leave town. 11 Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, (Q)shake the dust [k]off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 (R)And they went out and [l]preached that people are to repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and (S)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

John’s Fate Recalled

14 (T)And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “(U)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is (V)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is (W)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

17 For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of (X)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “(Y)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And (Z)Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; 20 for (AA)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he [m]used to enjoy listening to him. 21 An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, (AB)held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people (AC)of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of (AD)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and [n]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to (AE)half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and [o]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.

30 (AF)The (AG)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and (AH)they did not even have time to eat.) 32 (AI)And they went away in (AJ)the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Five Thousand Men Fed

33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went [p]ashore, He (AK)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because (AL)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “[q]This place is secluded and it is already late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves [r]something to eat.” 37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” (AM)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred [s](AN)denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 But He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. 40 They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (AO)blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied; 43 and they picked up twelve full (AP)baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. 44 There were (AQ)five thousand [t]men who ate the loaves.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 (AR)And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into (AS)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to (AT)Bethsaida, while He Himself *dismissed the crowd. 46 And after (AU)saying goodbye to them, He left (AV)for the mountain to pray.

47 When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 Seeing them [u]straining at the oars—for the wind was against them—at about the [v](AW)fourth watch of the night, He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were [w]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, (AX)Take courage; it is I, (AY)do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into (AZ)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52 for (BA)they [x]had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but [y]their hearts (BB)were hardened.

Healing at Gennesaret

53 (BC)When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, [z]to wherever they heard He was. 56 And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just (BD)touch (BE)the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being [aa]healed.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 6:1 Or His own part of the country
  2. Mark 6:2 One early ms many listeners
  3. Mark 6:2 Or works of power
  4. Mark 6:3 Or Jacob
  5. Mark 6:4 Or his own part of the country
  6. Mark 6:5 Or work of power
  7. Mark 6:8 Or knapsack; or beggar’s bag
  8. Mark 6:9 Lit having tied on
  9. Mark 6:9 A long shirt worn next to the skin
  10. Mark 6:10 Lit go out from there
  11. Mark 6:11 Lit under your feet
  12. Mark 6:12 Or proclaimed as heralds
  13. Mark 6:20 Lit was hearing him gladly
  14. Mark 6:22 Lit those who reclined at the table with him
  15. Mark 6:26 Lit those reclining at the table
  16. Mark 6:34 Lit out
  17. Mark 6:35 Lit The
  18. Mark 6:36 Lit what they may eat
  19. Mark 6:37 The denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer
  20. Mark 6:44 I.e., 5,000 men plus women and children, cf. Matt 14:21
  21. Mark 6:48 Lit tormented in rowing
  22. Mark 6:48 I.e., 3-6 a.m.
  23. Mark 6:50 Or troubled
  24. Mark 6:52 Lit had not understood on the basis of
  25. Mark 6:52 Lit heart was hardened; or their mind was closed, made dull; or insensible
  26. Mark 6:55 Lit where they were hearing that He
  27. Mark 6:56 Lit saved

Then Yeshua left and went to his home town, and his talmidim followed him. On Shabbat he started to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They asked, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom he has been given? What are these miracles worked through him? Isn’t he just the carpenter? the son of Miryam? the brother of Ya‘akov and Yosi and Y’hudah and Shim‘on? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them. “The only place people don’t respect a prophet is in his home town, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” So he could do no miracles there, other than lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of trust.

Then he went through the surrounding towns and villages, teaching.

Yeshua summoned the Twelve and started sending them out in pairs, giving them authority over the unclean spirits. He instructed them, “Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick — no bread, no pack, no money in your belt. Wear shoes but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place; 11 and if the people of some place will not welcome you, and they refuse to hear you, then, as you leave, shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

12 So they set out and preached that people should turn from sin to God, 13 they expelled many demons, and they anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

14 Meanwhile, King Herod heard about this, for Yeshua’s reputation had spread. Some were saying, “Yochanan the Immerser has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 Others said, “It is Eliyahu!” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the old prophets.” 16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “Yochanan, whom I had beheaded, has been raised.”

17 For Herod had sent and had Yochanan arrested and chained in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her, 18 but Yochanan had told him, “It violates the Torah for you to marry your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted him put to death. But this she could not accomplish, 20 because Herod stood in awe of Yochanan and protected him, for he knew that he was a tzaddik, a holy man. Whenever he heard him, he became deeply disturbed; yet he liked to listen to him.

21 Finally, the opportunity came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday for his nobles and officers and the leading men of the Galil. 22 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want; I will give it to you”; 23 and he made a vow to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” 24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” She said, “The head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 25 At once the daughter hurried back to the king and announced her request: “I want you to give me right now on a platter the head of Yochanan the Immerser.” 26 Herod was appalled; but out of regard for the oaths he had sworn before his dinner guests, he did not want to break his word to her. 27 So the king immediately sent a soldier from his personal guard with orders to bring Yochanan’s head. The soldier went and beheaded Yochanan in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When Yochanan’s talmidim heard of it, they came and took the body and laid it in a grave.

30 Those who had been sent out rejoined Yeshua and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 There were so many people coming and going that they couldn’t even take time to eat, so he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a place where we can be alone, and you can get some rest.” 32 They went off by themselves to an isolated spot; 33 but many people, seeing them leave and recognizing them, ran ahead on foot from all the towns and got there first. 34 When Yeshua came ashore, he saw a huge crowd. Filled with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time, the hour was late. The talmidim came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s getting late. 36 Send the people away, so that they can go and buy food for themselves in the farms and towns around here.” 37 But he answered them, “Give them something to eat, yourselves!” They replied, “We are to go and spend thousands on bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and check.” When they had found out, they said, “Five. And two fish.” 39 Then he ordered all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. 41 Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up toward heaven, made a b’rakhah. Next he broke up the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute. He also divided up the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate as much as they wanted, 43 and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces and fish. 44 Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men.

45 Immediately Yeshua had his talmidim get in the boat and go on ahead of him toward the other side of the lake, toward Beit-Tzaidah, while he sent the crowds away. 46 After he had left them, he went into the hills to pray. 47 When night came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was by himself on land. 48 He saw that they were having difficulty rowing, because the wind was against them; so at around four o’clock in the morning he came toward them, walking on the lake! He meant to come alongside them; 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and let out a shriek; 50 for they had all seen him and were terrified. However, he spoke to them. “Courage,” he said, “it is I. Stop being afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.

53 After they had made the crossing, they landed at Ginosar and anchored. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized him 55 and began running around throughout that whole region and bringing sick people on their stretchers to any place where they heard he was. 56 Wherever he went, in towns, cities or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the tzitzit on his robe, and all who touched it were healed.