Mark 6
1 Jesus went on from there and came to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples.
Jesus left [Capernaum city and went to his hometown, Nazareth]. His disciples went with him.
2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles?
(On the Sabbath/On the Jewish rest day), [he entered] the Jewish worship house and taught [the people]. Many who were listening to him were astonished. [But some] were saying, “[This man is just an ordinary person like we are! So (we cannot believe that] this man [is able to teach us] about these things and that he has been made very wise {that [God] has made him very wise} and that he is performing such miracles![/how is it that] [RHQ] this man [is able to teach us] about these things and that he has been made very wise {that [God] has made him very wise} and that he is performing such miracles?) [RHQ]
3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.
([We know that] he is [just an ordinary] carpenter!/Isn’t he [just an ordinary] carpenter [RHQ]?) [We know him and his family! We know] Mary his mother! ([We know] his [younger] brothers James, Joses, Judas and Simon!/Are not his [younger] brothers James, Joses, Judas and Simon?) [RHQ] And (his [younger] sisters also live here in this town!/do not his [younger] sisters also live here in this town?) [RHQ]” So they despised him.
4 Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
Jesus [knew that they refused to believe in him]. So he said to them, “[It is certainly true that] people honor [me and other] prophets [in other places, but] not in our hometowns! Even our relatives and the people who live in our own houses do not honor us!”
5 So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.
[So], although he healed a few sick people there by touching them, he [decided] not to perform many [other] miracles [in Nazareth] because the people there did not believe that he was the Messiah.
6 And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.
He was amazed that they did not believe [in him]. Mark 6:6b-13 Jesus [and his disciples] went from town to town [in that region] teaching [the people].
7 Then Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits.
[One day] he summoned the twelve [disciples], and then he [told them that] he was going to send them out two-by-two [to teach people in various towns]. He gave them power [to expel] evil spirits [from people].
8 He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—
He also instructed them to wear sandals and to take along a walking stick when they were traveling. He told them not to take food, nor a bag [in which travelers carry supplies], nor any money for their journey. He also did not allow them to take extra clothing. [He wanted the people who heard their message to give them what they needed].
9 and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic.
10 And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area.
He also instructed them, “After you enter a town, [if someone invites you to stay in his house], go into his house. Eat and sleep in that same home until you leave that town.
11 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”
Wherever the people do not welcome you and wherever the people do not listen to you, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave [that place]. By doing that, you will warn them [that God will punish them for rejecting your message].”
12 So they set out and preached that the people should repent.
[So] after the disciples went out [to various towns], they were preaching that people should stop their sinful behavior.
13 They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.
They were also expelling many evil spirits [from people], and they were anointing many sick people with [olive] oil and healing them.
14 Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
[King] Herod [Antipas] heard about [what] Jesus [was doing], because many people were talking [about it. Some] people were saying [about Jesus], “[He must be] John the Baptizer! He has come back to life! That is why he [has God’s] power to perform these miracles!”
15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
Others were saying [about Jesus], “He is [the former prophet] Elijah, [whom God promised to send back again].” Others were saying [about Jesus], “[No], he is a [different] prophet, like one of the [other] prophets [who lived long ago].”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!”
Having heard [what the people were saying, King] Herod [Antipas] himself repeatedly said, “The man [performing those miracles] must be John! I [commanded my soldiers to] cut off his head, but he has come back to life again [to get revenge for my killing him]!”
17 For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.
The reason [King Herod concluded that John wanted revenge is as follows: Some time before this], Herod married Herodias, while she was [still] the wife of his [younger] brother, Philip.
18 For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”
John kept telling Herod, “[God’s] law does not permit you to marry the wife of your brother [while he is still alive].” Then, because Herodias [urged him to put John in prison], Herod himself sent [soldiers to John]. They seized John and put him in prison.
19 So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable,
But because Herodias wanted to get [further] revenge on John, she wanted [someone] to execute him. But she could not do that because [while John was in prison], Herod kept John safe [from her].
20 because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John’s words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.
Herod did this because he respected/feared John, because he knew that he was a righteous and holy man. The king did not know what he should do, but he liked to listen to him.
21 On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
But [Herodias was able to have someone execute John when they honored/celebrated] the day when Herod was born. On that day, he invited the [most important] government officials, the [most important] army leaders, and the most important men in Galilee [district] in order that they might eat [and celebrate with him].
22 When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
[While they were eating], Herodias’ daughter came into the room and danced, and that pleased [King] Herod and his guests. So the king said to her, “Ask me for whatever you desire and I will give it to you!”
23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!”
He said to her, “Whatever you ask, I will give it to you! I will give you up to half of what I own and rule, if you ask for it. May God punish me [if I do not do what I have promised]!”
24 Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl immediately left the room and went to her mother. She [told her what the king had said, and] asked her, “What shall I ask for?” Her mother replied, “[Ask the king to give you] the head of John the Baptizer!”
25 At once the girl hurried back to the king with her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.”
The girl quickly entered the room again. She went to the king and she requested, “I want you to command someone to [cut off] the head of John the Baptizer [and] give it to me at once on a platter, [so that my mother can know he is dead]!”
26 The king was consumed with sorrow, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her.
The king became very distressed [when he heard what she asked for], because he knew John was a very righteous man (OR, because he now knew that he should not have made that promise to her). But he could not refuse [what she requested because] he had promised [that he would give her anything she asked for], and because his guests [had heard him promise that].
27 So without delay, the king commanded that John’s head be brought in. He sent an executioner, who went and beheaded him in the prison.
So the king at once ordered the man who executes prisoners to go and [cut off] John’s head and bring it [to the girl]. That man went to the prison and cut off John’s head.
28 The man brought John’s head on a platter and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
He [put it on] a platter, brought it back, and gave it to the girl. The girl took it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
After John’s disciples heard [what happened], they went [to the prison] and took John’s body and then they buried [it in a burial cave].
30 Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught.
The [twelve] apostles returned to Jesus [from the places to which they had gone]. They reported to him what they had done and what they had taught [to people].
31 And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
He said to them, “Come [with me] to a place where no people are living, in order that we can be alone and rest a little while!” [He said this] because many people were continually coming to them and going [away again], with the result that [Jesus and] his disciples did not have time to eat [or do anything else].
32 So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place.
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a place where no people were living.
33 But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them.
[But many] people saw them leaving. They also recognized [that they were Jesus and the disciples, and they saw where they were going]. So they ran [ahead on land] from all the [nearby] towns to the place [where Jesus and his disciples were going]. They [actually] arrived there before [Jesus and the disciples].
34 When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.
As Jesus [and his disciples] got out of the boat, Jesus saw this large crowd. He felt sorry for them because they were [confused], like sheep that do not have a shepherd. So he taught them many things.
35 By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late.
Late [in the afternoon], the disciples came to him and said, “This is a place where no people live and it is very late.
36 Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
[So] send the people away in order that they may go to the surrounding farms and villages in order that they can buy for themselves something to eat!”
37 But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”
But he replied, “[No], you [yourselves] give them something to eat!” They replied, “(We could not buy enough bread to feed [this crowd], even if we had as much money as a man earns by working 200 days!/How could we buy enough bread to feed [this mob], even if we had as much money as a man earns by working 200 days?)” [RHQ]
38 “Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five—and two fish.”
But he replied to them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and find out!” They [went and] found out and then they told him, “We have [only] five flat loaves and two [cooked] fish!”
39 Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass.
He instructed [the disciples to tell] all the people to sit down on the green grass.
40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
So the people sat in groups. There were 50 people in some groups and 100 people in other groups.
41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all.
Jesus took the five flat loaves and the two fish. He looked up towards heaven and thanked [God] for them. Then he broke the loaves and fish into pieces and kept giving them to the disciples in order that they would distribute them to the people.
42 They all ate and were satisfied,
Everyone ate [this food] until they all had enough to eat!
43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.
The disciples then collected twelve baskets full of pieces [of bread] and of the fish [that were left over].
44 And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves.
There were approximately 5,000 men who ate the bread [and fish. They did not even count the women and children].
45 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.
Right away Jesus told his disciples to get into the boat and then go ahead of him to Bethsaida [town, which was] further around [Lake Galilee. He stayed and] dismissed the many people who were there.
46 After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
After he said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills in order to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on land.
When it was evening, the [disciples’] boat was in the middle of the lake and Jesus was by himself on the land.
48 He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them,
He saw that the wind was [blowing] against them as they rowed. As a result, they were having great difficulty. He approached them early in the morning, when it was still dark, by walking on the water. He intended to walk by them.
49 but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost—
They saw him walking on the water, but they thought that he was a ghost. They screamed
50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
because they all were terrified when they saw him. But he talked to them. He said to them, “Be calm! Do not be afraid, [because] it is I!”
51 Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And the disciples were utterly astounded,
He got into the boat [and sat down] with them and the wind [immediately] blowing. They were completely amazed [about what he had done].
52 for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts had been hardened.
[Although they had seen Jesus multiply] the [bread and the fish], they did not understand [from that how powerful he was, as they should have]. They did not think clearly about it.
53 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and moored the boat.
After they went further around [Lake Galilee in a boat, they came to the shore at Gennesaret town]. Then they tied up the boat there.
54 As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus
As soon as they got out of the boat, [the people there] recognized Jesus.
55 and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.
So they ran throughout the whole district [in order to tell others that Jesus was there]. Then the people [placed] those who were sick on stretchers and carried them to any place where they heard [people say] that Jesus was.
56 And wherever He went—villages and towns and countrysides—they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.
In whatever village, town or other place where he entered, they would bring to the marketplaces those who were sick. Then the [sick people] would beg Jesus to let them touch [him or] even the edge of his clothes [in order that Jesus might heal them]. All those who touched [him or his robe] were healed.
