The AI Bible

Mark 6

Edition 0.1

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1Jesus left there and went to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2When the Sabbath came, he began teaching in the synagogue. Most of those listening were astonished, and they said, “Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And how are such miracles done by his hands? 3Is this not the carpenter, Mary’s son, brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Are his sisters not here among us?” And they took offense at him.a 4Jesus said to them, “Nowhere is a prophet without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and within his own household.”

5He could not do any miracles there, except that he healed a few sick people by laying his hands on them. 6He was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went around the nearby villages, teaching. 7He called the Twelve to him, and he began sending them out in pairs, giving them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff: no bread, no bag, no copper coins in their belts.b 9But they were to go in sandals, and he said, “Do not put on two tunics.” 10He told them, “Whatever house you go into, stay there until you leave the area.c

11If any place will not welcome you, and the people there will not listen to you, then as you leave, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony to them.”d 12They went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13They drove out many demons, and they anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. 14Now King Herod heard of it, because the name of Jesus had become widely known. People were saying, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”e 15Others were saying, “He is Elijah.” Still others were saying, “A prophet, like one of the prophets.”

16But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, the man I myself beheaded, has been raised.”f 17For it was Herod himself who had sent men to seize John and had him bound in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, for Herod had married her. 18For John had kept telling Herod, “You are not permitted to have your brother’s wife.” 19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John. She wanted to kill him, but she could not. 20For Herod stood in awe of John and kept him safe, because he knew him to be a righteous and holy man. When he heard John, he was greatly perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.g

21Then an opportune day came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, his army officers, and the leading men of Galilee.h 22Herodias's own daughter came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and those dining with him. The king told the girl, "Ask me for anything you like, and I will give it to you."i 23He swore to her, "Whatever you ask me for, I will give it to you, up to half my kingdom." 24The girl went out to her mother and said, "What should I ask for?" Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptizer." 25The girl hurried straight back to the king and asked, "I want you to give me John the Baptist's head on a platter, right now."

26The king was deeply grieved, but on account of his oaths and the guests at his table, he would not turn her down.j 27At once the king sent an executioner and ordered him to bring John's head. The man went and beheaded him in the prison. 28He brought the head back on a platter. He gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When John's disciples heard about it, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb. 30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him everything they had done and taught.k

31Then he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while." For so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. 32So they set off by themselves in the boat for a remote place. 33Many people saw them going and recognized them. From all the towns the people ran together on foot and got there ahead of them.l 34When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he was moved with compassion for them, since they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then he began teaching them many things.

35It was already late in the day when his disciples came up to Jesus and said, “This place is remote, and it is already late. 36Send the crowd away so that they can go to the farms and villages around here and buy themselves something to eat.”m 37He replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and spend two hundred days’ wages on bread and give them something to eat?”n 38“How many loaves do you have?” he asked them. “Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39Then he told the disciples to have everyone sit down group by group on the green grass. 40So the people sat down in groups, like garden beds, in hundreds and in fifties.

41Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, and said the blessing. He broke the loaves and kept giving them to his disciples to hand out to the people. He also shared out the two fish among them all.o 42All of them ate and were satisfied. 43They picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces, and some of the fish as well. 44Five thousand men had eaten the loaves.p 45Jesus at once made his disciples get into the boat and set off ahead of him to the other side, toward Bethsaida, while he himself sent the crowd away.

46After saying goodbye to them, he went off into the hills to pray. 47When evening came, the boat was out in the middle of the sea, while Jesus was alone on land. 48Jesus saw the disciples straining at the oars, for the wind was against them. Sometime between three and six in the morning he came toward them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass them by.q 49When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and they cried out. 50For all of them saw him and were terrified. At once Jesus spoke to them. “Take heart,” he said. “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

51Then he climbed up into the boat to join them, and the wind died down. The disciples were utterly astounded within themselves,r 52because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts had been hardened. 53After crossing over to land, they came to Gennesaret and anchored there. 54As soon as they stepped out of the boat, the local people recognized Jesus. 55They ran throughout that whole region and began carrying the sick on mats from place to place, wherever they heard he was. 56Wherever he went, to villages, towns or farms, they would lay the sick in the marketplaces and beg him to let them touch even the tassel of his cloak. And everyone who touched him was made well.s

Notes

  1. 3aGreek tektōn, a worker in wood, stone or metal, but especially a carpenter (Abbott-Smith).
  2. 8bThe Greek word for bag means a leather pouch for food. Abbott-Smith's lexicon reports Deissmann's view that it was an alms-bag.
  3. 10cGreek: until you go out from there. This most likely means the place they are visiting rather than the house.
  4. 11dThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus continue: “Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”
  5. 14eThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus read “he was saying,” so that Herod himself is the one who says John has been raised.
  6. 16fThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus read “John, whom I beheaded—it is he; he has been raised from the dead.”
  7. 20gThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus read “he did many things” instead of “he was greatly perplexed.”
  8. 21hGreek: chiliarchs, literally commanders of a thousand; here the word is used more generally of high-ranking military officers.
  9. 22iOther editions of the Greek text (Westcott and Hort, NA28) read "his daughter Herodias," making the girl Herod's daughter and giving her the name Herodias.
  10. 26jHerod was a tetrarch, not a king. The lexicon notes that the title 'king' is given to Herod the Tetrarch by courtesy, citing Matthew 14:9, the parallel to this verse.
  11. 30k'Apostles' means 'those sent out'. The word fits here because the Twelve are returning from the mission Jesus sent them on in 6:7–13.
  12. 33lThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus read 'recognized him' and add at the end 'and came together to him'; the Textus Receptus also has 'the crowds' as those who saw them.
  13. 36mThe Byzantine text (Robinson-Pierpont) and the Textus Receptus read “buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat.”
  14. 37nGreek “two hundred denarii.” The denarius was a Roman coin; in Matthew 20:2 one denarius is the pay agreed for a day’s work.
  15. 41oGreek: he blessed, with no object stated. Abbott-Smith lists this use as giving praise; in Mark 8:7 the same verb has the food as its object.
  16. 44pThe SBLGNT, followed here, has no 'about'; the Byzantine text agrees. The Textus Receptus reads 'about five thousand men'.
  17. 48qGreek: about the fourth watch of the night.
  18. 51rThe Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus add “and they marveled” at the end of this verse.
  19. 56sOr “the corner of his cloak.” Abbott-Smith's lexicon gives “tassel or corner” for this word in the New Testament and in the Greek translation of Numbers 15:38–39; in classical Greek it meant “edge.”