Mark 6

1 And he^a went out from thence, and came into his own country;¹ and his disciples follow him.

2 And ^bwhen the sabbath-day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him, were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

3 Is ^cnot this the carpenter,² the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

4 But Jesus said unto them, ^dA prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

5 And^e he could there do no mighty work,³ save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.

6 And ^ghe marvelled because of their unbelief. ^hAnd he went round about the villages, teaching.

7 ¶ Andⁱ he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by ^jtwo and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits;

8 And commanded them that they ^kshould take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money⁴ in their purse:

9 But be ^lshod with sandals;⁵ and not put on two coats.⁶

10 And he said unto them, ⁿIn what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.

11 And^o whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. ^pVerily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and⁷ Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

12 And they went out, and preached ^qthat men should repent.

13 And^r they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil⁸ many that were sick, and healed them.

14 ¶ And^s king Herod⁹ heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.

15 Others^t said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.

16 But^u when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.

17 ¶ For^v Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.

18 For John had said unto Herod, ^xIt is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.Cited in WLC 139 · WCF 24.4

19 Therefore ^yHerodias had a quarrel¹ against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:

20 For Herod ^zfeared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed² him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.³

21 And when ^aa convenient day was come, that Herod on his birth-day made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;

22 And when ^bthe daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.Cited in WLC 139

23 And he sware unto her, ^cWhatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.

24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, ^dThe head of John the Baptist.Cited in WLC 130

25 And she came in straightway ^ewith haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by-and-by, in a charger, the head of John the Baptist.

26 And the king ^hwas exceeding sorry; ⁱyet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.Cited in WLC 113 · WCF 22.7

27 And ^jimmediately the king sent an executioner,⁴ and commanded his head to be brought: and he went, and beheaded him in the prison,

28 And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.

29 And when his disciples heard of it, ^kthey came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

30 ¶ And^l the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

31 And he said unto them, ⁿCome ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

32 And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

33 And the people saw them departing, ^oand many knew him,⁵ and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.

34 ¶ And^p Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and ^qhe began to teach them many things.

35 And^r when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:

36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.

37 He answered and said unto them, ^sGive ye them to eat. And they say unto him, ^tShall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth⁶ of bread, and give them to eat?

38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.

39 And ^uhe commanded them to make all sit down by companies⁷ upon the green grass.

40 And they sat down in ranks,⁸ by hundreds, and by fifties.

41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, ^vhe looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.

42 And^x they did all eat, and were filled.

43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.

44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

45 ¶ And ^ystraightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto⁹ Bethsaida,¹ while he sent away the people.

46 And when he had sent them away,² he departed ^zinto a mountain to pray.

47 And^a when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.

48 And he saw them ^btoiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and ^cabout the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and ^dwould have passed by them.³

49 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they ^esupposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:

50 For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, ^gBe of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.

51 And^h he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were ⁱsore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.

52 For^j they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.⁴Cited in WCF 17.3

53 ¶ And^k when they had passed over, they came into the land of ⁵Gennesaret,⁶ and drew to the shore.

54 And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,⁷

55 And ^lran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.

56 And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might ⁿtouch, if it were but the ^oborder of his garment: and as many as touched him⁸ were made whole.