^8:1In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So¹ Jesus² called his disciples and said to them, ^8:2“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days, and they have nothing to eat. ^8:3If I send them home hungry, they will faint on the way, and some of them have come from a great distance.” ^8:4His disciples answered him, “Where can someone get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy these people?” ^8:5He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.” ^8:6Then³ he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. After he took the seven loaves and gave thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples to serve. So⁴ they served the crowd. ^8:7They also had a few small fish. After giving thanks for these, he told them to serve these as well. ^8:8Everyone⁵ ate and was satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. ^8:9There were about four thousand⁶ who ate.⁷ Then he dismissed them.⁸^8:10Immediately he got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.⁹

The Demand for a Sign

^8:11Then the Pharisees¹⁰ came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for¹¹ a sign from heaven¹² to test him. ^8:12Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth,¹³ no sign will be given to this generation.” ^8:13Then¹⁴ he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

^8:14Now¹⁵ they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ^8:15And Jesus¹⁶ ordered them,¹⁷ “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees¹⁸ and the yeast of Herod!” ^8:16So they began to discuss with one another about having no bread.¹⁹^8:17When he learned of this,²⁰ Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing²¹ about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? ^8:18Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear?²² Don’t you remember? ^8:19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, “Twelve.” ^8:20“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied,²³ “Seven.” ^8:21Then²⁴ he said to them, “Do you still not understand?”²⁵

A Two-stage Healing

^8:22Then²⁶ they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus²⁷ and asked him to touch him. ^8:23He took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village. Then²⁸ he spit on his eyes, placed his hands on his eyes²⁹ and asked, “Do you see anything?” ^8:24Regaining his sight³⁰ he said, “I see people, but they look like trees walking.” ^8:25Then Jesus³¹ placed his hands on the man’s³² eyes again. And he opened his eyes,³³ his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ^8:26Jesus³⁴ sent him home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”³⁵

Read in Logos

Footnotes

1 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
5 Grk “They.”
6 The parallel in Matt 15:32–39 notes that the four thousand were only men, a point not made explicit in Mark.
7 The words “who ate” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity.
8 Mark 8:1–10. Many commentators, on the basis of similarities between this account of the feeding of the multitude (8:1–10) and that in 6:30–44, have argued that there is only one event referred to in both passages. While there are similarities in language and in the response of the disciples, there are also noticeable differences, including the different number present on each occasion (i.e., 5,000 in chap. 6 and 4,000 here). In the final analysis, the fact that Jesus refers to two distinct feedings in 8:18–20 settles the issue; this passage represents another very similar incident to that recorded in 6:30–44.
9 The exact location of Dalmanutha is uncertain, but it is somewhere close to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
10 See the note on Pharisees in .
11 Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zētountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.
12 What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.
13 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
14 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
15 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
16 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 Grk “was giving them orders, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
18 See the note on Pharisees in .
19 Grk “And they were discussing with one another that they had no bread.”
20 Or “becoming aware of it.”
21 Or “discussing.”
22 Grk “do you not hear?”
23 A difficult textual problem is found here, involving three different variants: καὶ λέγουσιν (kai legousin) is found in א ; οἱ δὲ εἶπον (hoi de eipon) is the reading of 𝔓45 A D W Θ f1, 13 33 𝔐 it; and καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ (kai legousin autō) is supported by B C L (Δ 579 892) 2427 . The first two variants would not be translated differently; the third reading, however, would add “to him” after “they replied.” What complicates the issue is that the external evidence is fairly evenly split between the second and third readings, though the first reading is in agreement with the second reading in lacking the dative pronoun. Indeed, another layout of the problem here could treat this as two distinct problems: καὶ λέγουσιν vs. οἱ δὲ εἶπον and αὐτῷ vs. omission of the word. In this second arrangement of the problem, the reading without the pronoun has slightly stronger support (𝔓45 א A D W Θ f1, 13 33 𝔐 it). Internally, Mark never elsewhere uses the form εἶπον for the third person plural indicative form of this verb (it is always εἶπαν [eipan]). And although only one other time in Mark is the object lacking after λέγουσιν (6:38), it is a similar context (, the disciples’ response before Jesus feeds the 5000). Very tentatively, the reading that is followed here is καὶ λέγουσιν. puts αὐτῷ in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.
24 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence in the narrative.
25 Do you still not understand? The disciples in Mark’s Gospel often misunderstood the miracles of Jesus as well as his teaching. Between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Mark paints the most revealing portrait of the shortcomings of the Twelve (cf. 6:51–52; 7:17–19; 8:1–10, 14–21, 27–30, 33; 9:5, 10, 33; 10:28, 35–45; 14:19, 29–31, 32–37, 50, 66–72).
26 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
27 Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 Grk “village, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
29 Grk “on him,” but the word πάλιν in v. 25 implies that Jesus touched the man’s eyes at this point.
30 The verb ἀναβλέπω, though normally meaning “look up,” when used in conjunction with blindness means “regain sight.”
31 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 Grk “his”; the referent (the blind man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
33 Or “he looked intently”; or “he stared with eyes wide open” ( διαβλέπω 1).
34 Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
35 Codex Bezae (D) replaces “Do not even go into the village” with “Go to your house, and do not tell anyone, not even in the village.” Other with some minor variations (Θ f13 28 565 2542 ) expand on this prohibition to read “Go to your house, and if you go into the village, do not tell anyone.” There are several other variants here as well. While these expansions are not part of Mark’s original text, they do accurately reflect the sense of Jesus’ prohibition.