Mark 5-10

Good News Translation

Jesus Heals a Man with Evil Spirits^(A)

5 Jesus and his disciples arrived on the other side of Lake Galilee, in the territory of Gerasa. ² As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came out of the burial caves there. This man had an evil spirit in him ³ and lived among the tombs. Nobody could keep him tied with chains any more; ⁴ many times his feet and his hands had been tied, but every time he broke the chains and smashed the irons on his feet. He was too strong for anyone to control him. ⁵ Day and night he wandered among the tombs and through the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones.

⁶ He was some distance away when he saw Jesus; so he ran, fell on his knees before him, ⁷ and screamed in a loud voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God! What do you want with me? For God's sake, I beg you, don't punish me!” (⁸ He said this because Jesus was saying, “Evil spirit, come out of this man!”)

⁹ So Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

The man answered, “My name is ‘Mob’—there are so many of us!” ¹⁰ And he kept begging Jesus not to send the evil spirits out of that region.

¹¹ There was a large herd of pigs near by, feeding on a hillside. ¹² So the spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, and let us go into them.” ¹³ He let them go, and the evil spirits went out of the man and entered the pigs. The whole herd—about two thousand pigs in all—rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.

¹⁴ The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and spread the news in the town and among the farms. People went out to see what had happened, ¹⁵ and when they came to Jesus, they saw the man who used to have the mob of demons in him. He was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind; and they were all afraid. ¹⁶ Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the man with the demons, and about the pigs.

¹⁷ So they asked Jesus to leave their territory.

¹⁸ As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”

¹⁹ But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you.”

²⁰ So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.

Jairus' Daughter and the Woman Who Touched Jesus' Cloak^(B)

²¹ Jesus went back across to the other side of the lake. There at the lakeside a large crowd gathered around him. ²² Jairus, an official of the local synagogue, arrived, and when he saw Jesus, he threw himself down at his feet ²³ and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is very sick. Please come and place your hands on her, so that she will get well and live!”

²⁴ Then Jesus started off with him. So many people were going along with Jesus that they were crowding him from every side.

²⁵ There was a woman who had suffered terribly from severe bleeding for twelve years, ^26 (C)even though she had been treated by many doctors. She had spent all her money, but instead of getting better she got worse all the time. ²⁷ She had heard about Jesus, so she came in the crowd behind him, ²⁸ saying to herself, “If I just touch his clothes, I will get well.”

²⁹ She touched his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once; and she had the feeling inside herself that she was healed of her trouble. ³⁰ At once Jesus knew that power had gone out of him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹ His disciples answered, “You see how the people are crowding you; why do you ask who touched you?”

³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ The woman realized what had happened to her, so she came, trembling with fear, knelt at his feet, and told him the whole truth. ³⁴ Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your trouble.”

³⁵ While Jesus was saying this, some messengers came from Jairus' house and told him, “Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any longer?”

³⁶ Jesus paid no attention to^[a] what they said, but told him, “Don't be afraid, only believe.” ³⁷ Then he did not let anyone else go on with him except Peter and James and his brother John. ³⁸ They arrived at Jairus' house, where Jesus saw the confusion and heard all the loud crying and wailing. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this confusion? Why are you crying? The child is not dead—she is only sleeping!”

⁴⁰ They started making fun of him, so he put them all out, took the child's father and mother and his three disciples, and went into the room where the child was lying. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum,” which means, “Little girl, I tell you to get up!”

⁴² She got up at once and started walking around. (She was twelve years old.) When this happened, they were completely amazed. ⁴³ But Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone, and he said, “Give her something to eat.”

Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth^(D)

6 Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. ² On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? ³ Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.

^4 (E)Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.”

⁵ He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples^(F)

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. ⁷ He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits ⁸ and ordered them, “Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets. ⁹ Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt.” ¹⁰ He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. ^11 (G)If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

¹² So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. ^13 (H)They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist^(I)

^14 (J)Now King Herod^[b] heard about all this, because Jesus' reputation had spread everywhere. Some people were saying, “John the Baptist has come back to life! That is why he has this power to perform miracles.”

¹⁵ Others, however, said, “He is Elijah.”

Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶ When Herod heard it, he said, “He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!” ^17 (K)Herod himself had ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip. ¹⁸ John the Baptist kept telling Herod, “It isn't right for you to marry your brother's wife!”

¹⁹ So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not because of Herod. ²⁰ Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him.

²¹ Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod's birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials, the military chiefs, and the leading citizens of Galilee. ²² The daughter of Herodias^[c] came in and danced, and pleased Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, “What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want.” ²³ With many vows he said to her, “I swear that I will give you anything you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom!”

²⁴ So the girl went out and asked her mother, “What shall I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵ The girl hurried back at once to the king and demanded, “I want you to give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!”

²⁶ This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he had made in front of all his guests. ²⁷ So he sent off a guard at once with orders to bring John's head. The guard left, went to the prison, and cut John's head off; ²⁸ then he brought it on a plate and gave it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. ²⁹ When John's disciples heard about this, they came and got his body, and buried it.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand^(L)

³⁰ The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught. ³¹ There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, “Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while.” ³² So they started out in a boat by themselves to a lonely place.

³³ Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples. ^34 (M)When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things. ³⁵ When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. ³⁶ Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat.”

³⁷ “You yourselves give them something to eat,” Jesus answered.

They asked, “Do you want us to go and spend two hundred silver coins^[d] on bread in order to feed them?”

³⁸ So Jesus asked them, “How much bread do you have? Go and see.”

When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves and also two fish.”

³⁹ Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass. ⁴⁰ So the people sat down in rows, in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty. ⁴¹ Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ⁴² Everyone ate and had enough. ⁴³ Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left of the bread and the fish. ⁴⁴ The number of men who were fed was five thousand.

Jesus Walks on the Water^(N)

⁴⁵ At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side of the lake, while he sent the crowd away. ⁴⁶ After saying good-bye to the people, he went away to a hill to pray. ⁴⁷ When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, while Jesus was alone on land. ⁴⁸ He saw that his disciples were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; so sometime between three and six o'clock in the morning, he came to them, walking on the water. He was going to pass them by,^{[e] 49} but they saw him walking on the water. “It's a ghost!” they thought, and screamed. ⁵⁰ They were all terrified when they saw him.

Jesus spoke to them at once, “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!” ⁵¹ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. The disciples were completely amazed, ⁵² because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand; their minds could not grasp it.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret^(O)

⁵³ They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat. ⁵⁴ As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once. ⁵⁵ So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats. ⁵⁶ And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well.

The Teaching of the Ancestors^(P)

7 Some Pharisees and teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus. ² They noticed that some of his disciples were eating their food with hands that were ritually unclean—that is, they had not washed them in the way the Pharisees said people should.

(³ For the Pharisees, as well as the rest of the Jews, follow the teaching they received from their ancestors: they do not eat unless they wash their hands in the proper way; ⁴ nor do they eat anything that comes from the market unless they wash it first.^[f] And they follow many other rules which they have received, such as the proper way to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds.^[g])

⁵ So the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law asked Jesus, “Why is it that your disciples do not follow the teaching handed down by our ancestors, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?”

^6 (Q)Jesus answered them, “How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you! You are hypocrites, just as he wrote:

⁸ “You put aside God's command and obey human teachings.”

⁹ And Jesus continued, “You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to uphold your own teaching. ^10 (R)For Moses commanded, ‘Respect your father and your mother,’ and, ‘If you curse your father or your mother, you are to be put to death.’ ¹¹ But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, ‘This is Corban’ (which means, it belongs to God), ¹² they are excused from helping their father or mother. ¹³ In this way the teaching you pass on to others cancels out the word of God. And there are many other things like this that you do.”

The Things That Make a Person Unclean^(S)

¹⁴ Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand. ¹⁵ There is nothing that goes into you from the outside which can make you ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.” ^16 [h]

¹⁷ When he left the crowd and went into the house, his disciples asked him to explain this saying. ¹⁸ “You are no more intelligent than the others,” Jesus said to them. “Don't you understand? Nothing that goes into you from the outside can really make you unclean, ¹⁹ because it does not go into your heart but into your stomach and then goes on out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten.)

²⁰ And he went on to say, “It is what comes out of you that makes you unclean. ²¹ For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, ²² commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly— ²³ all these evil things come from inside you and make you unclean.”

A Woman's Faith^(T)

²⁴ Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. ²⁵ A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet. ²⁶ The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸ “Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”

²⁹ So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”

³⁰ She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.

Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute

³¹ Jesus then left the neighborhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns. ³² Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him. ³³ So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue. ³⁴ Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”

³⁵ At once the man was able to hear, his speech impediment was removed, and he began to talk without any trouble. ³⁶ Then Jesus ordered the people not to speak of it to anyone; but the more he ordered them not to, the more they told it. ³⁷ And all who heard were completely amazed. “How well he does everything!” they exclaimed. “He even causes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”

Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People^(U)

8 Not long afterward another large crowd came together. When the people had nothing left to eat, Jesus called the disciples to him and said, ² “I feel sorry for these people, because they have been with me for three days and now have nothing to eat. ³ If I send them home without feeding them, they will faint as they go, because some of them have come a long way.”

⁴ His disciples asked him, “Where in this desert can anyone find enough food to feed all these people?”

⁵ “How much bread do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven loaves,” they answered.

⁶ He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, gave thanks to God, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the crowd; and the disciples did so. ⁷ They also had a few small fish. Jesus gave thanks for these and told the disciples to distribute them too. ^8-9 Everybody ate and had enough—there were about four thousand people. Then the disciples took up seven baskets full of pieces left over. Jesus sent the people away ¹⁰ and at once got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

The Pharisees Ask for a Miracle^(V)

^11 (W)Some Pharisees came to Jesus and started to argue with him. They wanted to trap him, so they asked him to perform a miracle to show that God approved of him. ^12 (X)But Jesus gave a deep groan and said, “Why do the people of this day ask for a miracle? No, I tell you! No such proof will be given to these people!”

¹³ He left them, got back into the boat, and started across to the other side of the lake.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod^(Y)

¹⁴ The disciples had forgotten to bring enough bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. ^15 (Z)“Take care,” Jesus warned them, “and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”

¹⁶ They started discussing among themselves: “He says this because we don't have any bread.”

¹⁷ Jesus knew what they were saying, so he asked them, “Why are you discussing about not having any bread? Don't you know or understand yet? Are your minds so dull? ^18 (AA)You have eyes—can't you see? You have ears—can't you hear? Don't you remember ¹⁹ when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand people? How many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”

“Twelve,” they answered.

²⁰ “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand people,” asked Jesus, “how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you take up?”

“Seven,” they answered.

²¹ “And you still don't understand?” he asked them.

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch him. ²³ Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on the man's eyes, Jesus placed his hands on him and asked him, “Can you see anything?”

²⁴ The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they look like trees walking around.”

²⁵ Jesus again placed his hands on the man's eyes. This time the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ Jesus then sent him home with the order, “Don't go back into the village.”

Peter's Declaration about Jesus^(AB)

²⁷ Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Tell me, who do people say I am?”

^28 (AC)“Some say that you are John the Baptist,” they answered; “others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

^29 (AD)“What about you?” he asked them. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.”

³⁰ Then Jesus ordered them, “Do not tell anyone about me.”

Jesus Speaks about His Suffering and Death^(AE)

³¹ Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” ³² He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples, and rebuked Peter. “Get away from me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!”

^34 (AF)Then Jesus called the crowd and his disciples to him. “If any of you want to come with me,” he told them, “you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me. ^35 (AG)For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for me and for the gospel, you will save it. ³⁶ Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! ³⁷ There is nothing you can give to regain your life. ³⁸ If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

9 And he went on to say, “I tell you, there are some here who will not die until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

The Transfiguration^(AH)

^2 (AI)Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus, ³ and his clothes became shining white—whiter than anyone in the world could wash them. ⁴ Then the three disciples saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. ⁵ Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” ⁶ He and the others were so frightened that he did not know what to say.

^7 (AJ)Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son—listen to him!” ⁸ They took a quick look around but did not see anyone else; only Jesus was with them.

⁹ As they came down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has risen from death.”

¹⁰ They obeyed his order, but among themselves they started discussing the matter, “What does this ‘rising from death’ mean?” ^11 (AK)And they asked Jesus, “Why do the teachers of the Law say that Elijah has to come first?”

^12 (AL)His answer was, “Elijah is indeed coming first in order to get everything ready. Yet why do the Scriptures say that the Son of Man will suffer much and be rejected? ¹³ I tell you, however, that Elijah has already come and that people treated him just as they pleased, as the Scriptures say about him.”

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit^(AM)

¹⁴ When they joined the rest of the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some teachers of the Law arguing with them. ¹⁵ When the people saw Jesus, they were greatly surprised, and ran to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?”

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, because he has an evil spirit in him and cannot talk. ¹⁸ Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grits his teeth, and becomes stiff all over. I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.”

¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!” ²⁰ They brought him to Jesus.

As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ “How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.

“Ever since he was a child,” he replied. ²² “Many times the evil spirit has tried to kill him by throwing him in the fire and into water. Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!”

²³ “Yes,” said Jesus, “if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”

²⁴ The father at once cried out, “I do have faith, but not enough. Help me have more!”

²⁵ Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” he said, “I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!”

²⁶ The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him rise, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?”

²⁹ “Only prayer can drive this kind out,” answered Jesus; “nothing else can.”

Jesus Speaks Again about His Death^(AN)

³⁰ Jesus and his disciples left that place and went on through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where he was, ³¹ because he was teaching his disciples: “The Son of Man will be handed over to those who will kill him. Three days later, however, he will rise to life.”

³² But they did not understand what this teaching meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

Who Is the Greatest?^(AO)

³³ They came to Capernaum, and after going indoors Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you arguing about on the road?”

^34 (AP)But they would not answer him, because on the road they had been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest. ^35 (AQ)Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must place himself last of all and be the servant of all.” ³⁶ Then he took a child and had him stand in front of them. He put his arms around him and said to them, ^37 (AR)“Whoever welcomes in my name one of these children, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, welcomes not only me but also the one who sent me.”

Whoever Is Not against Us Is for Us^(AS)

³⁸ John said to him, “Teacher, we saw a man who was driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”

³⁹ “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus told them, “because no one who performs a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say evil things about me. ^40 (AT)For whoever is not against us is for us. ^41 (AU)I assure you that anyone who gives you a drink of water because you belong to me will certainly receive a reward.

Temptations to Sin^(AV)

⁴² “If anyone should cause one of these little ones to lose faith in me, it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea. ^43 (AW)So if your hand makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out. ^{44 [i] 45} And if your foot makes you lose your faith, cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. ^{46 [j] 47 (AX)}And if your eye makes you lose your faith, take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. ^48 (AY)There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.’

⁴⁹ “Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt.

^50 (AZ)“Salt is good; but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

“Have the salt of friendship among yourselves, and live in peace with one another.”

Jesus Teaches about Divorce^(BA)

10 Then Jesus left that place, went to the province of Judea, and crossed the Jordan River. Crowds came flocking to him again, and he taught them, as he always did.

² Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him. “Tell us,” they asked, “does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife?”

³ Jesus answered with a question, “What law did Moses give you?”

^4 (BB)Their answer was, “Moses gave permission for a man to write a divorce notice and send his wife away.”

⁵ Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. ^6 (BC)But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. ^7 (BD)‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife,^{[k] 8} and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. ⁹ No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”

¹⁰ When they went back into the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. ^11 (BE)He said to them, “A man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against his wife. ¹² In the same way, a woman who divorces her husband and marries another man commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children^(BF)

¹³ Some people brought children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples scolded the people. ¹⁴ When Jesus noticed this, he was angry and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ^15 (BG)I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” ¹⁶ Then he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them.

The Rich Man^(BH)

¹⁷ As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. ^19 (BI)You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.’”

²⁰ “Teacher,” the man said, “ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”

²¹ Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” ²² When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.

²³ Jesus looked around at his disciples and said to them, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus went on to say, “My children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.”

²⁶ At this the disciples were completely amazed and asked one another, “Who, then, can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings but not for God; everything is possible for God.”

²⁸ Then Peter spoke up, “Look, we have left everything and followed you.”

²⁹ “Yes,” Jesus said to them, “and I tell you that those who leave home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and for the gospel, ³⁰ will receive much more in this present age. They will receive a hundred times more houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields—and persecutions as well; and in the age to come they will receive eternal life. ^31 (BJ)But many who are now first will be last, and many who are now last will be first.”

Jesus Speaks a Third Time about His Death^(BK)

³² Jesus and his disciples were now on the road going up to Jerusalem. Jesus was going ahead of the disciples, who were filled with alarm; the people who followed behind were afraid. Once again Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and spoke of the things that were going to happen to him. ³³ “Listen,” he told them, “we are going up to Jerusalem where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. They will condemn him to death and then hand him over to the Gentiles, ³⁴ who will make fun of him, spit on him, whip him, and kill him; but three days later he will rise to life.”

The Request of James and John^(BL)

³⁵ Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “there is something we want you to do for us.”

³⁶ “What is it?” Jesus asked them.

³⁷ They answered, “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.”

^38 (BM)Jesus said to them, “You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup I must drink and be baptized in the way I must be baptized. ⁴⁰ But I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. It is God who will give these places to those for whom he has prepared them.”

⁴¹ When the other ten disciples heard about it, they became angry with James and John. ^42 (BN)So Jesus called them all together to him and said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority. ^43 (BO)This, however, is not the way it is among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; ⁴⁴ and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus^(BP)

⁴⁶ They came to Jericho, and as Jesus was leaving with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting by the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Many of the people scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up!” they said. “Get up, he is calling you.”

⁵⁰ So he threw off his cloak, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.

“Teacher,” the blind man answered, “I want to see again.”

⁵² “Go,” Jesus told him, “your faith has made you well.”

At once he was able to see and followed Jesus on the road.