Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6 ^bHe went away from there and came to ^chis hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And ^don the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and ^emany who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 ^fIs not this ^gthe carpenter, the son of Mary and ^hbrother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And ⁱthey took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, ^j“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And ^khe could do no mighty work there, except that ^lhe laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And ^mhe marveled because of their unbelief.

ⁿAnd he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

7 ^oAnd he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to ^pwear sandals and not put on two tunics.¹ 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, ^qshake off the dust that is on your feet ^ras a testimony against them.” 12 ^sSo they went out and ^tproclaimed ^uthat people should repent. 13 ^tAnd they cast out many demons and ^vanointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^wKing Herod heard of it, for Jesus’² name had become known. Some³ said, ^x“John the Baptist⁴ has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 ^xBut others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is ^ya prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 ^zFor it was Herod who had sent and seized John and ^abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 ^zFor John had been saying to Herod, ^b“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod ^cfeared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he ^dheard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod ^eon his birthday ^fgave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, ^gup to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s⁵ head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his ^hdisciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 ^ijThe apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and ^kthey had no leisure even to eat. 32 ^lAnd they went away in ^mthe boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and ⁿrecognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he ^osaw a great crowd, and ^ohe had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 ^pSend them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, ^q“You give them something to eat.” And ^rthey said to him, ^s“Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii⁶ worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, ^t“Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he ^ulooked up to heaven and ^vsaid a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 ^wImmediately he ^xmade his disciples get into ^ythe boat and go before him to the other side, ^zto Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, ^ahe went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when ^bevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about ^bthe fourth watch of the night⁷ he came to them, walking on the sea. ^cHe meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and ^dwere terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ^e“Take heart; it is I. ^eDo not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for ^fthey did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts ^gwere hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

53 ^hWhen they had crossed over, they came to land at ⁱGennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately ^jrecognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring ^kthe sick people ^lon their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, ^mthey laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even ⁿthe fringe of his garment. And ^oas many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

7 ^pNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^qwho had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^rdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,¹ holding to ^sthe tradition of ^tthe elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.² And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^uthe washing of ^vcups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.³) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^sthe tradition of ^tthe elders, ^wbut eat with ^rdefiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^xhypocrites, as it is written,

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^arejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ^b‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^c‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)⁴— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus ^dmaking void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^e“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 ^fThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”⁵ 17 And when he had entered ^gthe house and left the people, ^hhis disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then ⁱare you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart ^jbut his stomach, and is expelled?”⁶ (^kThus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, ^l“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^mmurder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, ⁿsensuality, ^oenvy, ^pslander, ^qpride, ^rfoolishness. 23 ^sAll these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.⁷ And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 ^tNow the woman was a ^uGentile, ^va Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be ^wfed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and ^xthrow it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ^ycrumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^zgo your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 ^aThen he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^bthe Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^cDecapolis. 32 And they brought to him ^da man who was deaf and ^dhad a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^elay his hand on him. 33 And ^ftaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^fafter spitting touched his tongue. 34 And ^glooking up to heaven, ^hhe sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 ^dAnd his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And ⁱJesus⁸ charged them to tell no one. But ^jthe more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were ^kastonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^lIn those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 ^m“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ⁿ“Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^ohaving given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And ^phaving blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And ^qthey ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ⁿseven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into ^rthe boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^sDalmanutha.¹

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

11 ^tThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, ^useeking from him ^va sign from heaven ^wto test him. 12 And ^xhe sighed deeply ^yin his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 And ^zhe left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

14 Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ^abeware of ^bthe leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of ^cHerod.”² 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And ^dJesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^eDo you not yet perceive ^for understand? ^fAre your hearts hardened? 18 ^gHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke ^hthe five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And ⁱthe seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 And they came ^jto Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And ^khe took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when ^khe had ^lspit on his eyes and ^mlaid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus³ laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, ⁿ“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

27 ^oAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, ^p“John the Baptist; and others say, ^qElijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^r“You are ^sthe Christ.” 30 ^tAnd he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 ^uAnd he began to teach them that ^vthe Son of Man must ^wsuffer many things and ^xbe rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and ^yafter three days rise again. 32 And he said this ^zplainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^a“Get behind me, Satan! For you ^bare not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^cdeny himself and ^dtake up his cross and follow me. 35 For ^dwhoever would save his life⁴ will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake ^eand the gospel’s will save it. 36 ^fFor what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For ^gwhat can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For ^hwhoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this ⁱadulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed ^jwhen he comes in the glory of his Father with ^kthe holy angels.”

9 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not ^ltaste death ^muntil they see the kingdom of God after it has come ⁿwith power.”

The Transfiguration

2 ^oAnd after six days Jesus took with him ^pPeter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was ^qtransfigured before them, 3 and ^rhis clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no one¹ on earth could bleach them. 4 And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter said to Jesus, ^s“Rabbi,² it is good that we are here. Let us make three ^ttents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 6 For ^uhe did not know what to say, for they were terrified. 7 And ^va cloud overshadowed them, and ^va voice came out of the cloud, ^w“This is my beloved Son;^{3 x}listen to him.” 8 And suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them but Jesus only.

9 ^yAnd as they were coming down the mountain, ^zhe charged them to tell no one what they had seen, ^auntil the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 10 ^bSo they kept the matter to themselves, ^cquestioning what this rising from the dead might mean. 11 And they asked him, “Why do the scribes say ^dthat first Elijah must come?” 12 And he said to them, “Elijah does come first ^eto restore all things. And ^fhow is it written of the Son of Man that he should ^gsuffer many things and ^hbe treated with contempt? 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and ⁱthey did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written of him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Unclean Spirit

14 ^jAnd when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd around them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, ^kwere greatly amazed and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” 17 And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has ^la spirit that makes him mute. 18 And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and ^mthey were not able.” 19 And he answered them, “O ⁿfaithless generation, ⁿhow long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” 20 And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it ^oconvulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But ^pif you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” 23 And Jesus said to him, ^p“‘If you can’! ^qAll things are possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out⁴ and said, “I believe; ^rhelp my unbelief!” 25 And when Jesus saw that ^sa crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, ^t“You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 And after crying out and ^oconvulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus ^utook him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had ^ventered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” 29 And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”⁵