And he went away from there and he comes to his hometown, and his disciples follow him. 2 And with the Sabbath having come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many listening were astonished, saying, “From where to this (man) these things, and what (is) the wisdom given to him and the mighty works happening through his hands?” 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him. 4 And Jesus said to them that “a prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his house.” 5 And he was unable to do any mighty work there, except having laid his hands on a few sick (people), he healed (them). 6 And he was marvelling because of their unbelief. And he was going around the villages in a circle teaching.
7 And he summoned the twelve and began to send them two by two and gave to them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 And he commands them that they may not take anything for the road except a staff only, not bread, not a bag, not money in the belt, 9 but having bound on sandals, and “do not wear two tunics.” 10 And he was saying to them, “Whenever you might enter a house, stay there until you go from there. 11 And whichever place might not receive you and might not listen to you, having departed from there, shake off the dust under your feet for a witness to them. 12 And having gone out, they proclaimed that they should repent, 13 and they were casting out many demons, and they were anointing with oil many sick and they were healing.
14 And king Herod heard, for his name became known, and they were saying that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead and for this reason the mighty works are working in him. 15 Others were saying that (he) is Elijah; others were saying that (he is) a prophet as one of the prophets. 16 Having heard, Herod was saying, “John, whom I beheaded, this one was raised.” 17 For he, Herod, having sent, seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he married her. 18 For John was saying to Herod that “it is not right for you to have the wife of your brother.” 19 Herodias was bearing ill-will against him and was wanting to kill him and could not; 20 for Herod feared John, having known him (to be) a just and holy man, and he was preserving him, and having heard, he was at a great loss, and he was hearing him gladly.
21 And with a day of opportunity having come when Herod on his birthday made a banquet for his nobles and the commanders-of-thousand and the foremost of Galilee, 22 and with his daughter of Herodias having entered and having danced, she pleased Herod and those reclining together. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish, and I will give (it) to you.” 23 And he swore to her [greatly], “Whatever you ask of me, I will give to you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And having gone out, she said to her mother, “What should I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And having entered immediately with haste to the king, she asked, saying, “I want that at once you should give to me on a plate the head of John the Baptist.” 26 And having become very sorrowful, the king, because of the oaths and those reclining, did not want to refuse her. 27 And immediately having sent, the king ordered an executioner to bring his head. And having gone, he beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a plate and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 And having heard, his disciples came and took his corpse and put it in a tomb.
30 And the apostles gather to Jesus and they announced to him everything that they did and taught. 31 And he says to them, “Come, you yourselves privately, to a desert place and rest a little. For there were many coming and going, and they were having no occasion to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desert place privately. 33 And many saw them drawing away and recognised them and they ran there on foot from all the cities and went before them. 34 And having gone out, he saw a great crowd and he had compassion on them because they were “as sheep not having a shepherd,” and he began to teach them many things.[fn]The point of the “sheep without a shepherd” saying and of the feeding in the wilderness that follows is determined by the use of the metaphor in Ezekiel and Zechariah. At this stage, Jesus is presented as a symbolic or prophetic shepherd rather than as a Davidic shepherd.[/fn]
35 And already with a late hour having come, having come to him, his disciples were saying that “the place is a desert, and already a late hour.” 36 Send them away, in order that having gone into the surrounding countryside and villages, they might buy for themselves what they might eat.” 37 Answering, he said to them, “You give them (something) to eat.” And they say to him, “Having gone away, should we buy bread for two hundred denarii and we will give to them to eat?” 38 He says to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go, see. And having come to know, they say, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And he commanded them all to sit down parties by parties on the green grass. 40 And they fell down groups by groups in hundreds and in fifties. 41 And having received the five loaves and two fish, having looked up to the heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves and gave to [his] disciples in order that they may set (them) before them, and he divided the two fish to all. 42 And all ate and were fed. 43 And they took up fragments, the fulness of twelve baskets and from the fish. 44 And those eating [the bread] were five thousand men.
45 And immediately he compelled his disciples to embark into the boat and to go ahead to the other side to Bethsaida, when he dismisses the crowd. 46 And having taken leave of them, he went away to the mountain to pray. 47 And with evening having come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he alone on the land. 48 And having seen them struggling in the rowing, for the wind was against them, about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them walking around on the sea and he was wanting to come alongside them.[fn]The verb parerchomai can also be translated “pass by,” and it is sometimes argued that Mark is alluding to Job 9:11 LXX: “if he went by me, I would not even know.” There is some contextual justification for this (cf. Job 9:8), but the story requires only that he meant to come alongside the boat (cf. verse 51; and the use of the verb in Lk. 12:37; 17:7).[/fn] 49 Seeing him walking around on the sea, they thought that it is a ghost and they cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were troubled. He immediately spoke with them, and he says to them, “Be confident, it is me.[fn]On the christological implications of this passage see “More on Michael Bird and the divine identity of Jesus in Mark.”[/fn] Do not be afraid.” 51 And he advanced to them, into the boat, and the wind ceased, and they were exceedingly [in excess] amazed among themselves, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
53 And having crossed over, they came to the land at Gennesaret and moored. 54 And with them having gone out from the boat, immediately having recognised him 55 they ran about that whole region and began to carry around those having illness on the beds where they were hearing that he is. 56 And wherever he was going into the villages or into cities or into fields, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and were urging him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment, and as many as touched him were being saved.
Recent comments