Mark 5–6

DEMONS DRIVEN OUT BY JESUS

5They^aj came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.^{B 2}As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean^ak spirit^al came out of the tombs^am and met him. ³He lived in the tombs,^an and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain^ao—⁴because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed^ap the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue^aq him. ⁵Night^ar and day among the tombs^as and on the mountains,^at he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. ⁷And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son^au of the Most High God?^av I beg you before God, don’t torment^aw me!” ⁸For he had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean^ax spirit!”^ay

⁹“What is your name?” he asked him.

“My name is Legion,”^az he answered him, “because we are many.” ¹⁰And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

¹¹A large herd of pigs^ba was there, feeding^bb on the hillside. ¹²The demons^C begged him, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.” ¹³So he gave them permission, and the unclean^bc spirits^bd came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.

¹⁴The men who tended them^D ran off^be and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed,^bfbg sitting there, dressed and in his right mind;^bh and they were afraid.^{bi 16}Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed^bj man and told about the pigs. ¹⁷Then they began to beg him to leave their region.

¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. ¹⁹Jesus did not let him but told him, “Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord^a has done^b for you and how he has had mercy on you.” ²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim^c in the Decapolis^d how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed.^e

A GIRL RESTORED AND A WOMAN HEALED

²¹When^f Jesus had crossed over again by boat^A to the other side, a large crowd^g gathered around him while he was by the sea. ²²One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus,^h came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet^{i 23}and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on^j her so that she can get well^Bk and live.” ²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him.

²⁵Now a woman suffering from bleeding^l for twelve years ²⁶had endured^m much under many doctors.ⁿ She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. ²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched^o his clothing.^{p 28}For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.”^{q 29}Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed^r of her affliction.

³⁰Immediately Jesus realized that power^s had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd^t and said, “Who touched my clothes?”^u

³¹His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³²But he was looking around to see who had done this. ³³The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down^v before him, and told him the whole truth.^{w 34}“Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith^x has saved you.^y Go in peace and be healed^z from your affliction.”^aa

³⁵While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher^ab anymore?”

³⁶When Jesus overheard^C what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid.^ac Only believe.” ³⁷He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter,^ad James,^ae and John,^af James’s brother. ³⁸They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping?^ag The child^ah is not dead but asleep.”^{ai 40}They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father,^aj mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. ⁴¹Then he took the child^ak by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum”^D (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”^al). ⁴²Immediately the girl got up^am and began to walk.^an (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded.^{ao 43}Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this^ap and told them to give her something to eat.

REJECTION AT NAZARETH

6He^aq left there and came to his hometown,^ar and his disciples^as followed him. ²When the Sabbath^at came, he began to teach^au in the synagogue,^av and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom^aw that has been given to him, and how are these miracles^ax performed by his hands? ³Isn’t this the carpenter,^ay the son of Mary,^az and the brother of James,^ba Joses, Judas,^bb and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended^bc by him.

⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet^bd is not without honor^be except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” ⁵He was not able to do a miracle^bf there, except that he laid his hands on^bg a few sick^bh people and healed^bi them. ⁶And he was amazed^bj at their unbelief.^bk He was going around the villages teaching.^bl

COMMISSIONING THE TWELVE

⁷He^bm summoned^bn the Twelve^bo and began to send^bp them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean^bq spirits.^{br 8}He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag,^bs no money in their belts, ⁹but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt.^{bt 10}He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. ¹¹If any place does not welcome^a you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet^b as a testimony^c against them.”^{A 12}So they went out and preached^d that people should repent.^{e 13}They drove out many demons,^f anointed^g many sick^h people with oilⁱ and healed them.^j

JOHN THE BAPTIST BEHEADED

¹⁴King^k Herod^l heard about it, because Jesus’s name^m had become well known. Some^B said, “John the Baptistⁿ has been raised from the dead,^o and that’s why miraculous powers^p are at work^q in him.” ¹⁵But others said, “He’s Elijah.”^r Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.”^s

¹⁶When Herod^t heard of it, he said, “John,^u the one I beheaded, has been raised!”^v

¹⁷For^w Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain^x him in prison on account of Herodias,^y his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.^{z 18}John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful^aa for you to have your brother’s wife.”^{ab 19}So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill^ac him. But she could not, ²⁰because Herod feared^ad John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous^ae and holy^af man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed,^Cag and yet he liked to listen to him.^ah

²¹An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet^ai for his nobles,^aj military commanders,^ak and the leading men of Galilee.^{al 22}When Herodias’s own daughter^D came in and danced,^am she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” ²³He promised her with an^an oath:^ao “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”^ap

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“John the Baptist’s^aq head,” she said.

²⁵At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s^ar head on a platter^as immediately.” ²⁶Although the king was deeply distressed,^at because of his oaths^au and the guests^A he did not want to refuse^av her. ²⁷The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, ²⁸brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When John’s disciples^aw heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.^ax

FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND

³⁰The^ay apostles^az gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. ³¹He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.

³²So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, ³³but many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.^B

³⁴When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion^ba on them, because they were like sheep^bb without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.

³⁵When it grew late, his disciples^bc approached him and said, “This place is deserted,^bd and it is already late. ³⁶Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷“You give them something to eat,” he responded.

They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii^C worth of bread and give them something to eat?”

³⁸He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²Everyone ate and was satisfied.^{be 43}They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴Now those who…