Mark - Chapter 6

Passage

And going out from there, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him. And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were amazed at his teaching, saying: Where did this man get all these things? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him, and such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them: A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own relatives. And he could not do any miracles there, except that he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. And he was amazed at their unbelief; and he went around the villages teaching. And he called the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. And he commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff: no bag, no bread, no money in their belts, But to wear sandals, and not to put on two coats. And he said to them: Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. And whoever will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony to them. And they went out and preached that people should do penance. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. And King Herod heard of it (for his name had become well known), and he said: John the Baptist has risen again from the dead, and that is why mighty works are at work in him. But others said: It is Elias. And others said: It is a prophet, like one of the prophets. But when Herod heard this, he said: John, whom I beheaded, has risen again from the dead. For Herod himself had sent and arrested John, and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had said to Herod: It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife. So Herodias plotted against him, and wanted to put him to death, but could not. For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and he listened to him gladly. And when a suitable day came, Herod gave a supper on his birthday for his princes, and officers, and the chief men of Galilee. And when the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who were at table with him, the king said to the girl: Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you. And he swore to her: Whatever you ask, I will give you, even half of my kingdom. And she went out and said to her mother: What shall I ask for? And her mother said: The head of John the Baptist. And she came in at once with haste to the king and asked, saying: I want you to give me right now, on a dish, the head of John the Baptist. And the king was very sad. Yet because of his oath, and because of those who were at table with him, he would not refuse her. So he sent an executioner and commanded that his head be brought on a dish. And he beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles gathered around Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them: Come away by yourselves to a desert place, and rest a little. For many were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. And they went away in a boat to a desert place by themselves. But people saw them going, and many recognized them; and they ran there on foot from all the cities, and arrived ahead of them. And when Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. And when it was already late in the day, his disciples came to him, saying: This is a desert place, and the hour is now late. Send them away, so that they may go into the nearby villages and towns and buy themselves something to eat. And he answered them: You give them something to eat. And they said to him: Shall we go and buy two hundred pence worth of bread and give it to them to eat? And he says to them: How many loaves do you have? Go and see. And when they found out, they say: Five, and two fish. And he commanded them to make all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. And they sat down in rows, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were filled. And they picked up the leftovers: twelve full baskets of fragments, and of the fish. And those who ate were five thousand men. And immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him across the water to Bethsaida, while he sent the people away. And when he had sent them away, he went up the mountain to pray. And when it was late, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. And seeing them straining at the oars (for the wind was against them), about the fourth watch of the night he comes to them, walking on the sea, and he meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and they cried out. For they all saw him and were terrified. And immediately he spoke with them and said to them: Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid. And he got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were even more astonished within themselves. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their hearts were blinded. And when they had crossed over, they came to the land of Genezareth and came to shore. And as soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized him. And running through that whole country, they began to carry the sick around on beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into towns or villages or cities, they laid the sick in the streets, and begged him that they might touch even the hem of his garment; and as many as touched him were made whole.