Mar 1-5 | ESV | STEP | The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ , the Son of God .

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, ^athe Son of God. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit the Son of God}

2 ^cAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ^{▼▼Some manuscripts in the prophets}

^e“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 ^fthe voice of one crying in the wilderness:
^g‘Prepare ^{▼▼Or crying: Prepare in the wilderness} the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”
4 ⁱJohn appeared, baptizing in ^jthe wilderness and proclaiming ^ka baptism of ^lrepentance ^mfor the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, ⁿconfessing their sins. 6 Now John was ^oclothed with camel’s hair and ^pwore a leather belt around his waist and ate ^qlocusts and ^rwild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, ^s“After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 ^tI have baptized you with water, but ^uhe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ^vIn those days Jesus ^wcame from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he ^xsaw ^ythe heavens being torn open ^zand the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And ^aaa voice came from heaven, ^ab“You are my beloved Son; ^{▼▼Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved} with you I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 ^adThe Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 ^aeAnd he was in the wilderness forty days, being ^aftempted by ^agSatan. And he was with the wild animals, and ^ahthe angels were ministering to him.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

14 ^aiNow after John was arrested, Jesus ^ajcame into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, ^ak“The time is fulfilled, and ^althe kingdom of God is at hand; ^amrepent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 ^anPassing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become ^aofishers of men.” ^{▼▼The Greek word anthropoi refers here to both men and women} 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 ^aqAnd they went into Capernaum, and immediately ^aron the Sabbath ^ashe entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22 And ^atthey were astonished at his teaching, ^aufor he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 24 ^av“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? ^awI know who you are— ^axthe Holy One of God.” 25 But Jesus ^ayrebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit, ^azconvulsing him and ^bacrying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And they were all ^bbamazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? ^bcA new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28 And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many

29 ^bdAnd immediately he ^{▼▼Some manuscripts they} ^bfleft the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now ^bgSimon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and ^bhtook her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or ^bioppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 ^bjAnd he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And ^bkhe would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee

35 ^blAnd rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and ^bmthere he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, ^bn“Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for ^bothat is why I came out.” 39 ^bpAnd ^bqhe went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 ^brAnd a leper ^{▼▼Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13} came to him, imploring him, and ^btkneeling said to him, ^bu“If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43 And ^bvJesus ^{▼▼Greek he; also verse 45} sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44 and said to him, ^bx“See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, ^byshow yourself to the priest and ^bzoffer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, ^cafor a proof to them.” 45 ^cbBut he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter ^cca town, but was out in ^cddesolate places, and ^cepeople were coming to him from every quarter.

Mark 2

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

1 And when he returned to ^cfCapernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 ^cgAnd they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, ^chthey removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus ^cisaw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, ^cjyour sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? ^ckHe is blaspheming! ^clWho can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, ^cmperceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that ^cnthe Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and ^coglorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Jesus Calls Levi

13 He went out again beside the sea, and ^cpall the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. 14 ^cqAnd as he passed by, he saw ^crLevi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he reclined at table in his house, many ^cstax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 And ^ctthe scribes of ^{▼▼Some manuscripts and} the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, ^cv“Why does he eat ^{▼▼Some manuscripts add and drink} with tax collectors and sinners?” 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ^cxI came not to call the righteous, ^cybut sinners.”

A Question About Fasting

18 Now ^czJohn’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, ^da“Why do John’s disciples and ^dbthe disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” 19 And Jesus said to them, ^dc“Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. 20 ^ddThe days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and ^dethen they will fast in that day. 21 No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. 22 And no one puts new wine into old ^dfwineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins.” ^{▼▼Some manuscripts omit But new wine is for fresh wineskins}

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

23 ^dhOne Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples ^dibegan to pluck heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, ^djwhy are they doing ^dkwhat is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, ^dl“Have you never read ^dmwhat David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of ^{▼▼Or in the passage about} ^doAbiathar the high priest, and ate ^dpthe bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, ^dq“The Sabbath was made for man, ^drnot man for the Sabbath. 28 So ^dsthe Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Mark 3

A Man with a Withered Hand

1 ^dtAgain ^duhe entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And ^dvthey watched Jesus, ^{▼▼Greek him} to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, ^dx“Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he ^dylooked around at them with anger, grieved at ^dztheir hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” ^eaHe stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 ^ebThe Pharisees went out and immediately ^echeld counsel with ^edthe Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A Great Crowd Follows Jesus

7 ^eeJesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and ^efa great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and ^egIdumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around ^ehTyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to ^eihave a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they ^ejcrush him, 10 for ^ekhe had healed many, so that all who had ^eldiseases pressed around him ^emto touch him. 11 ^enAnd whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they ^eofell down before him and cried out, “You are ^epthe Son of God.” 12 And ^eqhe strictly ordered them not to make him known.

The Twelve Apostles

13 ^erAnd he went up on the mountain and called to him those ^eswhom he desired, and they came to him. 14 ^etAnd he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 ^euand have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: ^evSimon (to whom ^ewhe gave the name Peter); 17 ^exJames the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and ^eyMatthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, ^{▼▼Greek kananaios, meaning zealot} 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

20 Then he went ^fahome, and the crowd gathered again, ^fbso that they could not even eat. 21 ^fcAnd when ^fdhis family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He ^feis out of his mind.”

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 And ^ffthe scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, ^fg“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 ^fhAnd he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But ^fino one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. ^fjThen indeed he may plunder his house.

28 ^fk“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever ^flblasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

31 ^fmAnd his mother and his ^fnbrothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers ^{▼▼Other early manuscripts add and your sisters} are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And ^fplooking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 ^fqFor whoever ^frdoes the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

1 Again ^fshe began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, ^ftso that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And ^fuhe was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! ^fvBehold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And ^fwwhen the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, ^fxit withered away. 7 Other seed fell among ^fythorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and ^fza hundredfold.” 9 And he said, ^ga“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 And ^gbwhen he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, ^gc“To you has been given ^gdthe secret of the kingdom of God, but for ^gethose outside everything is in parables, 12 ^gfso that

“'they ^ggmay indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they ^ghshould turn and be forgiven.'”
13 ^giAnd he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 ^gjThe sower sows ^gkthe word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it ^glwith joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but ^gmendure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^gnthey fall away. ^{▼▼Or stumble} 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but ^gpthe cares of ^gqthe world and ^grthe deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and ^gsbear fruit, ^gtthirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

21 ^guAnd he said to them, ^gv“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 ^gwFor nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 ^gxIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: ^gywith the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 ^gzFor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, ^ha“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ^hbhe knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once ^hche puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 ^hdAnd he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like ^hea grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 ^hfWith many such parables he spoke ^hgthe word to them, ^hhas they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them ^hiwithout a parable, but ^hjprivately to his own disciples he ^hkexplained everything.

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 ^hlOn that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves ^hmwere breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 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?” 39 And he awoke and ^hnrebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and ^hothere was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you ^hpso afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ^hq“Who then is this, that even ^hrthe wind and the sea obey him?”

Mark 5

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

1 ^hsThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. ^{▼▼Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gadarenes} 2 And when Jesus ^{▼▼Greek he; also verse 9} had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 ^hvHe lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and ^hwfell down before him. 7 And ^hxcrying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^hySon of ^hzthe Most High God? ^iaI adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is ^ibLegion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed ^{▼▼Greek daimonizomai; also verses 16, 18; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons} man, the one who had had ^idthe legion, sitting there, ^ieclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And ^ifthey began to beg Jesus ^{▼▼Greek him} to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and ^ihtell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in ⁱⁱthe Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 ^ijThen came one of ^ikthe rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and ^illay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and ^imthronged about him. 25 And there was a woman ⁱⁿwho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 ^ioAnd immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her ^ipdisease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that ^iqpower had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, ^iryour faith has made you well; ^isgo in peace, and be healed of your ^itdisease.”

35 While he was still speaking, there came from ^iuthe ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why ^ivtrouble ^iwthe Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing ^{▼▼Or ignoring; some manuscripts hearing} what they said, Jesus said to ^iythe ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except ^izPeter and James and ^jaJohn the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus ^{▼▼Greek he} saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, ^jc“Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but ^jdsleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he ^jeput them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 ^jfTaking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, ^jgarise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And ^jhhe strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.