The Gospel According to Mark

Mark 1

1: The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ. ^[1]
2: It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" ^[2]--
3: "a voice of one calling in the desert, `Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" ^[3]
4: And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
5: The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
6: John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
7: And this was his message: "After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
8: I baptize you with ^[4] water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
9: At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
10: As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending into (eiV) him like a dove.
11: And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
12: At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert,
13: and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
14: After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
15: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
16: As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
17: "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
18: At once they left their nets and followed him.
19: When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets.
20: Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
21: They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
22: The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
23: Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an unclean spirit cried out,
24: "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
25: "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!"
26: The unclean spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27: The people asked each other, "What is this? ^[5] He even gives orders to unclean spirits and they obey him."
28: News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
29: As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
30: Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
31: So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
32: That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed.
33: The whole town gathered at the door,
34: and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35: Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
36: Simon and his companions went to look for him,
37: and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38: Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else--to the nearby villages--so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."
39: So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
40: A man with leprosy ^[6] came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."
41: Filled with anger ^[7], Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
42: Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
43: Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning:
44: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."
45: Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Mark 2-3

Canonical Mark adds nothing.

Mary

Mk14:3a

While he was... reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the [Pharisee with Mary and Martha], [Mary] came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard.

Lk7:38

and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

39

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."

40

Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.

41

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

42

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

43

Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.

44

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45

You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.

46

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.

47

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

48

Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

49

The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

Taken from Luke 7:36-50; in my view it belongs here and not in chapter 14.

Mark 4

1: Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.
2: He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
3: "Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4: As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5: Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6: But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
8: Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
9: Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10: When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
11: He told them, "To you is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. ^[8] But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
12: so that, "`they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' ^[9]"
13: Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
14: The farmer sows the word.
15: Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
16: Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
17: But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
18: Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
19: but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
20: Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
21: He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?
22: For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.
23: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
24: "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you--and even more.
25: Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
The Seed Growing Secretly. Canonical Mark-only.
30: Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
31: It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground.
32: Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
33: With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.
34: He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

1 Most manuscripts add the Son of God, but the naysayers span a wide range of very early witnesses. Codices Koridethi and Sinaiticus, Origen, and MS 1555 lack it. The orthodox Church probably added it in order to fend against adoptionists. Ehrman pp.72-75.
2 Mal. 3:1
3 Isaiah 40:3. Codex Bezae and other Latin texts quote Isaiah directly, in order to link Jesus with God. Ehrman p. 83.
8 Or in
27 Canonical Mark has The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority!..."
40 The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin--not necessarily leprosy.
41 Most manuscripts have splagxnisqei: compassion. This variant orgisqei exists in Codex Bezae; also it is deleted in Matt and Luke. See Ehrman 1997 on Mark 1:41 and other orthodox corruptions of Scripture.
11 Canonical Mark calls this a "mystery" (singular).
12 Isaiah 6:9,10