^4:35On that day, when evening came, Jesus³⁸ said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.”³⁹^4:36So⁴⁰ after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat,⁴¹ and other boats were with him. ^4:37Now⁴² a great windstorm⁴³ developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped. ^4:38But⁴⁴ he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?” ^4:39So⁴⁵ he got up and rebuked⁴⁶ the wind, and said to the sea,⁴⁷ “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then⁴⁸ the wind stopped, and it was dead calm. ^4:40And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?” ^4:41They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this?⁴⁹ Even the wind and sea obey him!”⁵⁰

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Footnotes

38 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
39 The phrase “of the lake” is not in the Greek text but is clearly implied; it has been supplied here for clarity.
40 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response to Jesus’ request.
41 It is possible that this prepositional phrase modifies “as he was,” not “they took him along.” The meaning would then be “they took him along in the boat in which he was already sitting” (see 4:1). A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.
42 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
43 Or “a squall.” The Sea of Galilee is located in a depression some 700 ft (200 m) below sea level and is surrounded by hills. Frequently a rush of wind and the right mix of temperatures can cause a storm to come suddenly on the lake. Storms on the Sea of Galilee were known for their suddenness and violence.
44 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
45 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
46 Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).
47 Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23–30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.
48 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
49 Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (Who then is this?). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.
50 This section in Mark (4:35–5:43) contains four miracles: (1) the calming of the storm; (2) the exorcism of the demon-possessed man; (3) the giving of life to Jairus’ daughter; (4) the healing of the woman hemorrhaging for twelve years. All these miracles demonstrate Jesus’ right to proclaim the kingdom message and his sovereign authority over forces, directly or indirectly, hostile to the kingdom. The last three may have been brought together to show that Jesus had power over all defilement, since contact with graves, blood, or a corpse was regarded under Jewish law as causing a state of ritual uncleanness.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”

NLTNew Living Translation

As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.

Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And on that day, when it was evening, he said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him along, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind developed, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already being filled with water. And he was in the stern sleeping on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, is it not a concern to you that we are perishing?” And he woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Be silent!” And the wind abated and there was a great calm. And he said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you not yet have faith?” And they were terribly frightened and began to say to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

KJV 1900King James Version

And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

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