Mar 1 | HCSB | STEP | The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ , the Son of God .

Mark 1

Mark

The Messiah’s Herald

1 The beginning ^a of the gospel ^b of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ^c 2 As it is written in Isaiah ^d the prophet: ^{▼▼Other mss read in the prophets
,} ^f

Look, I am sending My messenger ^g ahead of You,
who will prepare Your way. ^{▼▼Other mss add before You}
3 A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ⁱ
Prepare the way for the Lord; ^j
make His paths straight! ^{k
,} ^l

4 John came baptizing ^{▼▼Or John the Baptist came, or John the Baptizer came
,} ⁿ in the wilderness ^o and preaching a baptism of repentance ^{▼▼Or a baptism based on repentance
,} ^q for the forgiveness ^r of sins. ^s 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem ^t were flocking to him, and they were baptized by him in the Jordan ^u River as they confessed ^v their sins. ^w 6 John wore a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts ^x and wild honey. ^y 7 He was preaching: “Someone more powerful ^z than I will come after me. ^aa I am not worthy ^ab to stoop down and untie the strap of His sandals. ^ac 8 I have baptized you with ^{▼▼Or in} water, ^ae but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” ^af

The Baptism of Jesus

9 In ^ag those days Jesus came from Nazareth ^ah in Galilee ^ai and was baptized in the Jordan by John. 10 As soon as He came up out of the water, He saw the heavens ^aj being torn open and the Spirit descending to Him like a dove. 11 And a voice ^ak came from heaven: ^al

You are My beloved ^am Son; ^an
I take delight ^ao in You! ^{▼▼Or In You I am well pleased}

The Temptation of Jesus

12 Immediately ^aq the Spirit ^ar drove ^as Him into the wilderness. ^at 13 He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted ^au by Satan. ^av He was with the wild animals, ^aw and the angels ^ax began to serve Him.

Ministry in Galilee

14 After ^ay John was arrested, ^az Jesus went to Galilee, ^ba preaching ^bb the good news ^{▼▼Other mss add of the kingdom
,} ^{▼▼Or gospel
,} ^be of God: ^{▼▼Either from God or about God
,} ^bg 15 “The time ^bh is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God ^bi has come ^bj near. ^bk Repent ^bl and believe ^bm in the good news!”

The First Disciples

16 As ^bn He was passing along by the Sea of Galilee, ^bo He saw Simon ^bp and Andrew, ^bq Simon’s brother. They were casting a net into the sea, ^br since they were fishermen.

17 “Follow Me,” ^bs Jesus told them, “and I will make you fish for ^{▼▼Lit you to become fishers of
,} ^bu people!” ^bv 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed ^bw Him. ^bx 19 Going on a little farther, He saw James ^by the son of Zebedee ^bz and his brother John. ^ca They were in their boat mending their nets. 20 Immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him. ^cb

Driving Out an Unclean Spirit

21 Then ^cc they went into Capernaum, ^cd and right away He entered the ^{▼▼synagogue(s): A place where the Jewish people met for prayer, worship and teaching of the Scriptures}synagogue ^cf on the Sabbath ^cg and began to teach. ^ch 22 They were astonished ^ci at His teaching ^cj because, unlike the ^{▼▼scribe(s): A professional group in Judaism that copied the law of Moses and interpreted it, especially in legal cases}scribes, ^cl He was teaching them as one having authority.

23 Just then a man with an ^{▼▼unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}unclean ^cn spirit ^co was in their synagogue. ^cp He cried out, ^{▼▼Other mss add to the beginning of v. 24: “Leave us alone.} 24 “What do You have to do with us, ^{▼▼Lit What to us and to You} Jesus – Nazarene? ^cs Have You come to destroy ^ct us? I know who You are – the Holy ^cu One of God!” ^cv

25 But Jesus rebuked ^cw him and said, “Be quiet, ^{▼▼Or Be muzzled
,} ^cy and come out of him!” 26 And the unclean spirit convulsed him, ^cz shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

27 Then they were all amazed, ^da so they began to argue ^db with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching ^dc with authority! ^{▼▼Other mss read What is this? What is this new teaching? For with authority
,} ^de He commands even the unclean ^df spirits, ^dg and they obey Him.” 28 News about Him then spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee. ^dh

Healings at Capernaum

29 As ^di soon as they left the synagogue, ^dj they went into Simon ^dk and Andrew’s ^dl house ^dm with James ^dn and John. ^do 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. 31 So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. ^dp The fever ^dq left her, ^{▼▼Other mss add at once} and she began to serve ^ds them. ^dt

32 When ^du evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sick ^dv and those who were demon-possessed. ^dw 33 The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and He healed ^dx many who were sick with various diseases ^dy and drove out ^dz many demons. ^ea But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him. ^eb

Preaching in Galilee

35 Very ^ec early in the morning, while it was still dark, He got up, went out, and made His way to a deserted place. ^ed And He was praying ^ee there. 36 Simon ^ef and his companions went searching for Him. 37 They found Him and said, “Everyone’s looking for You!”

38 And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach ^eg there too. This is why I have come.” 39 So He went into all of Galilee, ^eh preaching in their synagogues ^ei and driving out demons.

A Man Cleansed

40 Then ^ej a man with a serious skin disease ^ek came to Him and, on his knees, ^{▼▼Other mss omit on his knees
,} ^em begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me ^{▼▼clean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.}clean.” ^eo

41 Moved with compassion, ^ep Jesus reached out His hand and touched ^eq him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the disease ^er left him, and he was healed. ^{▼▼Lit made clean} 43 Then He sternly warned ^et him and sent him away ^eu at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; ^ev but go and show ^ew yourself to the priest, ^ex and offer ^ey what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, ^ez as a testimony ^fa to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim ^fb it widely and to spread the news, ^fc with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.