Mark 6:45–8:26

WALKING ON THE WATER

⁴⁵Immediately^bf he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida,^bg while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain^a to pray.^{b 47}Well into the night, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸He saw them straining^c at the oars,^A because the wind was against them. Very early in the morning^B he came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them. ⁴⁹When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost^d and cried out, ⁵⁰because they all saw him and were terrified.^e Immediately he spoke with them and said, “Have courage!^f It is I.^g Don’t be afraid.”^{h 51}Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded, ⁵²because they had not understood about the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.ⁱ

MIRACULOUS HEALINGS

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to shore at Gennesaret^j and anchored there.

⁵⁴As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized him. ⁵⁵They hurried throughout that region and began to carry the sick^k on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶Wherever he went, into villages, towns, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch just the end^l of his robe.^m And everyone who touched it was healed.

THE TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS

7Theⁿ Pharisees^o and some of the scribes^p who had come from Jerusalem^q gathered around him. ²They observed that some of his disciples were eating bread with unclean^r—that is, unwashed—hands. ³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, keeping the tradition of the elders. ⁴When they come from the marketplace,^s they do not eat unless they have washed.^t And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and dining couches.^cu) ⁵So the Pharisees^v and the scribes^w asked him, “Why don’t your disciples live^D according to the tradition of the elders,^x instead of eating bread with ceremonially unclean^E hands?”

⁶He answered them, “Isaiah^y prophesied^z correctly about you hypocrites,^aa as it is written:^ab

This people honors^ac me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

⁷They worship me in vain,

teaching^ad as doctrines^ae human commands.^Faf

⁸Abandoning the command of God, you hold on to human tradition.”^{G 9}He also said to them, “You have a fine way of invalidating God’s command in order to set up^H your tradition! ¹⁰For Moses^ag said: Honor your father and your mother;^Iah and Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.^{Jai 11}But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or mother: Whatever benefit^aj you might have received from me is corban’ ” (that is, an offering^ak devoted to God), ¹²“you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. ¹³You nullify the word of God^al by your tradition that you have handed^am down. And you do many other similar things.”

¹⁴Summoning^an the crowd again, he told them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:^{ao 15}Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”

¹⁷When he went into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸He said to them, “Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a person from the outside can defile him? ¹⁹For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomach^ap and is eliminated” (thus he declared all foods clean^Kaq). ²⁰And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities,^ar thefts, murders,^{as 22}adulteries,^at greed,^au evil actions, deceit,^av self-indulgence,^aw envy,^B slander,^ax pride,^ay and foolishness.^{az 23}All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”

A GENTILE MOTHER’S FAITH

²⁴He got up and departed from^ba there to the region of Tyre.^Cbb He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. ²⁵Instead, immediately after hearing about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit^a came and fell at his feet.^{b 26}The woman was a Gentile,^Dc a Syrophoenician by birth, and she was asking him to cast the demon^d out of her daughter. ²⁷He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”^e

²⁸But she replied to him, “Lord,^f even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹Then he told her, “Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰When she went back to her home, she found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

JESUS DOES EVERYTHING WELL

³¹Again, leaving the region of Tyre,^g he went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,^h through^E the region of the Decapolis.^{i 32}They brought to him a deaf^j man who had difficulty speaking^k and begged Jesus to lay his hand on^l him. ³³So he took him away from the crowd in private. After putting his fingers in the man’s ears and spitting,^m he touched his tongue. ³⁴Looking up to heaven,ⁿ he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!”^F (that is, “Be opened!”). ³⁵Immediately his ears were opened,^o his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly.^{p 36}He ordered them to tell no one,^q but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it.^r

³⁷They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well.^s He even makes the deaf^t hear and the mute speak.”^u

FEEDING FOUR THOUSAND

8In^v those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He called^w the disciples^x and said to them, ²“I have compassion^y on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. ³If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way,^z and some of them have come a long distance.”

⁴His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feed^aa these people?”

⁵“How many loaves do you have?” he asked them.

“Seven,” they said. ⁶He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, broke^ab them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. ⁷They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. ⁸They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. ⁹About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. ¹⁰And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES AND HEROD

¹¹The^ac Pharisees^ad came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a sign^ae from heaven^af to test^ag him. ¹²Sighing deeply in his spirit,^ah he said, “Why does this generation^ai demand a sign? Truly I tell you,^aj no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

¹⁴The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵Then^ak he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leaven^Aal of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”^{am 16}They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. ¹⁷Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?^{an 18}Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear?^Bao And do you not remember?^{ap 19}When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?”

“Twelve,” they told him.

²⁰“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?”

“Seven,” they said.

²¹And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”^aq

HEALING A BLIND MAN

²²They came to Bethsaida.^ar They brought a blind^as man to him and begged him to touch him. ²³He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting^at on his eyes and laying his hands on^au him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

²⁴He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”^av

²⁵Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶Then he sent^a him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”^Cb