Mark 1
1 This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
([This is/I want to tell you]) the good message about Jesus Christ, the Son of God (OR, the man who was also God). [What I want to tell you] begins just like the prophet Isaiah [said it would begin, when] he wrote [these words that God said to Jesus: ] Listen! I am sending my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare [people for] your [coming].
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
3 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
He will call out to people [who pass by where he is] in the desolate area, “As people improve and straighten out pathways [before an important official arrives] [MET], make [yourselves] ready [DOU] [in order that you will be prepared when] the Lord [comes].”
4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
[The messenger that Isaiah predicted was] John. [People called him] ‘The Baptizer’. In the desolate area near the Jordan River he kept telling people, “If you want God to forgive you for having sinned, you must turn away from your sinful behavior [before you ask me to] baptize [you].”
5 People went out to him from all of Jerusalem and the countryside of Judea. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
A great number [HYP] of people who lived in Jerusalem [city] and [elsewhere] in the Judea [district] were going out to where John was. There, [after hearing John’s message], they [responded by] confessing the sinful things [that they had done]. Then they were being baptized by John {John was baptizing them} in the Jordan River.
6 John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.
John wore [rough] clothes made of camel’s hair. And [as the prophet Elijah had done], he wore a leather belt around his waist; and what he ate was [only] grasshoppers and honey [that he found] in that desolate area.
7 And he began to proclaim: “After me will come One more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
He was preaching, “Very shortly a man will come who is very great. I [am nothing compared to him. Because he is so superior to me], I am not even worthy to [serve him like a slave] by stooping down and untying his sandals.
8 I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
I used [only] water when I baptized you [because you said that you wanted to change your lives], but he will put his Holy Spirit [within] you [to truly change your lives].”
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
During that time [when John was preaching], Jesus came from Nazareth [town], which is in Galilee [district]. He went to [where John was preaching] and he was baptized by John {John baptized him} in the Jordan [River].
10 As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.
Immediately after [Jesus] came up out of the water, he saw heaven opened up [and he saw] the Spirit [of God] descending on himself. He came in the form of a dove.
11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
And [God] [MTY] spoke to him from heaven saying, “You are my Son, whom I love dearly. I am very pleased with you.”
12 At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,
(Then/Right away) the Spirit [of God] sent Jesus into the desolate area.
13 and He was there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels ministered to Him.
He was there for 40 days. During that time, he was tempted by Satan {Satan tempted him}. There were wild animals [there] also. But angels took care of him.
14 After the arrest of John, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God.
Later, after John was put in prison {after [soldiers] put John in prison} [because he had rebuked the governor Herod Antipas for his sins], Jesus went to Galilee [district]. There he was preaching the good message [that came] from God.
15 “The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”
He was repeatedly saying, “Now is the time when God will begin to rule people’s lives [in a new way]. [So] turn away from your sinful behavior! Believe the good message [in order] ([to belong to him/to become those whose lives he will rule])!”
16 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.
[One day], while Jesus was walking along by Galilee Lake, he saw [two men], Simon and Simon’s [younger] brother, Andrew. They were casting their [fishing] net into the lake. They [earned money by] catching [and selling] fish.
17 “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Then Jesus said to them, “[Just like you have been] gathering fish, come with me and I will [teach] you how to [gather people to become my disciples]” [MET].
18 And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Immediately they abandoned [the work that they were doing with] their nets, and they went with him.
19 Going on a little farther, He saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat, mending their nets.
After they had gone on a little further, Jesus saw [two other men], James and James’ [younger] brother, John. They were the sons of [a man named] Zebedee. They were both in a boat mending [fishing] nets.
20 Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
As soon as Jesus saw them, he told them that [they should leave their work and to come with him]. So they left their father, [who remained] in the boat with the hired servants, and they went away with Jesus.
21 Then Jesus and His companions went to Capernaum, and right away Jesus entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.
[Later] Jesus [and those disciples] arrived at Capernaum [town]. On the next (Sabbath/Jewish rest day), after Jesus had entered (the synagogue/the Jewish meeting place), he began teaching [the people who had gathered there].
22 The people were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
They were continually amazed at the way he taught. [He did] not [just teach what others had taught], like the men who teach the [Jewish] laws did. [They habitually just repeated what other people had taught]. Instead, he taught with [his own] authority.
23 Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
Suddenly, [while he was teaching], a man [appeared] in their worship place who had an evil spirit in him, and he shouted,
24 “What do You want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
“Jesus, from Nazareth [town, since] we [evil spirits] have nothing in common with you, ([do not interfere with us]!/what do you want with us [evil spirits]?) [RHQ] (Do not destroy us [now]!/Have you come to destroy us [now]?) [RHQ] I know who you are. I know that you are the holy one [who has come] from God!”
25 But Jesus rebuked the spirit. “Be silent!” He said. “Come out of him!”
Jesus rebuked [the evil spirit], saying, “Be quiet! And come out [of the man]!”
26 At this, the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out with a loud shriek.
The evil spirit shook the man hard. He screamed loudly, and then he came out of the man [and left].
27 All the people were amazed and began to ask one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him!”
All [the people who were there] were amazed. As a result, they discussed this among themselves, [exclaiming], “(This is [amazing]!/What is this?) [RHQ] Not only does he teach in a new and authoritative way, but also the evil spirits obey him [when] he commands [them]!”
28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.
The people very soon told [many others] throughout the whole Galilee district what Jesus [had done].
29 As soon as Jesus and His companions had left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
After they left (the synagogue/the Jewish meeting place), [Jesus, Simon and Andrew], along with James and John went directly to Simon and Andrew’s house.
30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her.
Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed because she had a [high] fever. Right away someone told Jesus about her [being sick].
31 So He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.
He went to her, and helped her up by taking hold of her hand. She recovered [at once] from the fever, and then she [got up and] served them [some food].
32 That evening, after sunset, people brought to Jesus all who were sick and demon-possessed,
That evening, after the sun had gone down [and restrictions about travel on the Sabbath/on the Jewish rest day]) [were ended], some people brought to Jesus many people who were sick and others whose lives evil spirits were controlling.
33 and the whole town gathered at the door.
[It seemed as though] everyone [HYP, MTY] [who lived in] the town was gathered at the doorway [of Simon’s house].
34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
Jesus healed many people who were ill with various diseases. He also expelled many demons [from people]. He did not allow the demons to tell people [about him], because they knew that he [had come from God, and for various reasons he did not want everyone to know that yet].
35 Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.
Jesus got up very early [the next morning] while it was still dark. He left [the house] and went away [from the town] to a place where there were no people. Then he prayed there.
36 Simon and his companions went to look for Him,
Simon and his companions searched for him. When they found him, [wanting him to go back to town to help other people], they said to him,
37 and when they found Him, they said, “Everyone is looking for You!”
“[Come back to the town with us, because] many [HYP] people [in Capernaum] are looking for you!”
38 But Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns so I can preach there as well, for that is why I have come.”
He said to them, “[No], let’s go on to the neighboring towns in order that I can preach there also, because the reason that I came [into the world] was to [preach to people] in many places!”
39 So He went throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
So they went throughout Galilee [district. As they did so, each (Sabbath/Jewish rest day]) he preached in (synagogues/Jewish meeting places). He was also expelling evil spirits [from people].
40 Then a leper came to Jesus, begging on his knees: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
[One day] a man who had [a bad skin disease called] leprosy came to Jesus. He knelt down in front of Jesus and then he pleaded with him saying, “[Please heal me, because I know] you are able to heal me if you want to!”
41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!”
Jesus felt very sorry for him. [So he ignored the religious laws about coming close to people who had that disease]. He reached out his hand and touched the man. Then he said to him, “Since I am willing [to heal you], be healed {I heal you} [now]!”
42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and the man was cleansed.
Immediately the man was healed! He was no longer a leper!
43 Jesus promptly sent him away with a stern warning:
Jesus spoke sternly to him before he sent him away.
44 “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
What Jesus said was, “Go to a local priest and show yourself to him [in order that he may examine you and verify that you are healed]. Then, [after the priest tells the local people], they will know [that you have been healed, and you will be able to associate with them again]. Make sure that you do not tell others [about what happened] Then go to [Jerusalem and take to the priest what Moses commanded that people who have been healed from leprosy should offer, in order that he] may offer it [as a sacrifice to God].”
45 But the man went out and openly began to proclaim and spread the news. Consequently, Jesus could no longer enter a town in plain view, but He stayed out in solitary places. Yet people came to Him from every quarter.
The man went [and presented himself to the priest. But then] he began to tell many people about [how Jesus had healed him] [DOU]. As a result, Jesus was no longer able to enter any town publicly [because the crowds would surround him]. Instead, he remained outside [the towns] in places [where no people lived]. But people kept coming to him from all over that region.
