Mark Chapter 3

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¹ He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had his hand withered. ² They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accusehim. ³ He said to the man who had his hand withered, “Stand up.” ⁴ He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?” But they were silent. ⁵ When he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other. ⁶ The Pharisees went out, and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

⁷ Jesus withdrew to the sea with his disciples, and a great multitude followed him from Galilee, from Judea, ⁸ from Jerusalem, from Idumaea, beyond the Jordan, and those from around Tyre and Sidon. A great multitude, hearing what great things he did, came to him. ⁹ He spoke to his disciples that a little boat should stay near him because of the crowd, so that they wouldn’t press on him. ¹⁰ For he had healed many, so that as many as had diseases pressed on him that they might touch him. ¹¹ The unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, “You are the Son of God!” ¹² He sternly warned them that they should not make him known.

¹³ He went up into the mountain, and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him. ¹⁴ He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach, ¹⁵ and to have authority to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: ¹⁶ Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter; ¹⁷ James the son of Zebedee; John, the brother of James, and he surnamed them Boanerges, which means, Sons of Thunder; ¹⁸ Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot; ¹⁹ and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him. He came into a house. ²⁰ The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. ²¹ When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.” ²² The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.”

²³ He summoned them, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ If Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he can’t stand, but has an end. ²⁷ But no one can enter into the house of the strong man to plunder, unless he first binds the strong man; and then he will plunder his house. ²⁸ Most certainly I tell you, all sins of the descendants of man will be forgiven, including their blasphemies with which they may blaspheme; ²⁹ but whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin” ³⁰ —because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

³¹ His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him. ³² A multitude was sitting around him, and they told him, “Behold, your mother, your brothers, andyour sisters are outside looking for you.”

³³ He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” ³⁴ Looking around at those who sat around him, he said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”

Mark Chapter 2

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¹ When he entered again into Capernaum after some days, it was heard that he was in the house. ² Immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them. ³ Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him. ⁴ When they could not come near to him for the crowd, they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on. ⁵ Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

⁶ But there were some of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

⁸ Immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you reason these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven;’ or to say, ‘Arise, and take up your bed, and walk?’ ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” —he said to the paralytic— ¹¹ “I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house.”

¹² He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

¹³ He went out again by the seaside. All the multitude came to him, and he taught them. ¹⁴ As he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he arose and followed him.

¹⁵ It happened, that he was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners sat down with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many, and they followed him. ¹⁶ The scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?”

¹⁷ When Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

¹⁸ John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, and they came and asked him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don’t fast?”

¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “Can the groomsmen fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they can’t fast. ²⁰ But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then will they fast in that day. ²¹ No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made. ²² No one puts new wine into old wineskins, or else the new wine will burst the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins.”

²³ It happened that he was going on the Sabbath day through the grain fields, and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain. ²⁴ The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”

²⁵ He said to them, “Did you never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry—he, and those who were with him? ²⁶ How he entered into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?” ²⁷ He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark Chapter 1

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¹ The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ² As it is written in the prophets,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.

³ The voice of one crying in the wilderness,

‘Make ready the way of the Lord!

Make his paths straight!’”

⁴ John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. ⁵ All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. ⁶ John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. ⁸ I baptized youin water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

⁹ It happened in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ A voice came out of the sky, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

¹² Immediately the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³ He was there in the wilderness forty days tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals; and the angels were serving him.

¹⁴ Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God, ¹⁵ and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News.”

¹⁶ Passing along by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you into fishers for men.”

¹⁸ Immediately they left their nets, and followed him. ¹⁹ Going on a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. ²⁰ Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him. ²¹ They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught. ²² They were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, “Ha! What do we have to do with you, Jesus, you Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”

²⁵ Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!”

²⁶ The unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him!” ²⁸ The report of him went out immediately everywhere into all the region of Galilee and its surrounding area.

²⁹ Immediately, when they had come out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ Now Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. ³¹ He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them. ³² At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick, and those who were possessed by demons. ³³ All the city was gathered together at the door. ³⁴ He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. He didn’t allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

³⁵ Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there. ³⁶ Simon and those who were with him followed after him; ³⁷ and they found him, and told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

³⁸ He said to them, “Let’s go elsewhere into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because I came out for this reason.” ³⁹ He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out demons.

⁴⁰ A leper came to him, begging him, kneeling down to him, and saying to him, “If you want to, you can make me clean.”

⁴¹ Being moved with compassion, he stretched out his hand, and touched him, and said to him, “I want to. Be made clean.” ⁴² When he had said this, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ He strictly warned him, and immediately sent him out, ⁴⁴ and said to him, “See you say nothing to anybody, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing the things which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them.”

⁴⁵ But he went out, and began to proclaim it much, and to spread about the matter, so that Jesus could no more openly enter into a city, but was outside in desert places: and they came to him from everywhere.