Mark 6

1Jesus left there and went to His hometown, and His disciples followed Him.

2On the Sabbath He began to teach in the synagogue. Many people who heard Him were amazed. They said: Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to Him? How does He do such miracles?

3Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us? And the people would not accept Him.

4But Jesus said to them: A prophet is honored everywhere except in that prophet's own hometown, among relatives, and in that prophet's own house.

5So Jesus could not do any miracles there, except to put His hands on a few sick people and heal them.

6He was amazed that they did not believe. Then Jesus went around to the villages, teaching the people.

7Jesus called the twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two. He gave them power over evil spirits.

8He told them to take nothing for the trip except a walking stick — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.

9They could wear sandals but not take an extra coat.

10He said to them: When you go into a house, stay there until you leave that town.

11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them.

12So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins.

13They drove out many demons and put olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

14King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus' name had become well known. Some people were saying: John the Baptist has come back from the dead. That is why he has power to do miracles.

15Others said: He is Elijah. And still others said: He is a prophet, like the prophets long ago.

16But when Herod heard this, he said: This is John, the man I had beheaded, and John has come back from the dead!

17Herod himself had given the order to arrest John. He had John tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. Herod had married her,

18and John had been telling Herod: It is not right for you to have your brother's wife.

19So Herodias hated John and wanted to kill him. But she could not,

20because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a good and holy man, so he protected him. When Herod listened to John, it troubled him, yet he liked to listen to him.

21Finally the right time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his officials, his army commanders, and the leading men of Galilee.

22The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl: Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you.

23He promised her: Whatever you ask, I will give it to you, even half my kingdom.

24She went out and asked her mother: What should I ask for? Her mother answered: The head of John the Baptist.

25At once the girl hurried back to the king and said: I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a plate.

26The king was very sad. But because of the promise he had made in front of his guests, he did not want to refuse her.

27So the king sent the palace executioner at once and ordered him to bring John's head.

28The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

29When John's disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

30The apostles came back to Jesus and told Him everything they had done and taught.

31There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have time to eat. So Jesus said to them: Come away with me to a quiet place and rest a while.

32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place.

33But many people saw them leaving and knew where they were going. So they ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

34When Jesus came ashore, He saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

35By now it was getting late. His disciples came to Him and said: This is a lonely place, and it is already very late.

36Send the people away, so they can go to the farms and villages around here and buy themselves something to eat.

37But Jesus answered: You give them something to eat. They said to Him: Do you want us to go and spend a small fortune on bread to feed them?

38Jesus asked: How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see. When they found out, they said: Five loaves and two fish.

39Then Jesus told them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

40So they sat down in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty.

41Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and thanked God. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to His disciples to give to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

42Everyone ate and was full.

43Afterward the disciples picked up twelve small hand-baskets full of leftover bread and fish.

44There were about five thousand men who had eaten.

45Right away Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He sent the people away.

46After Jesus had sent them away, He went up on a mountain to pray.

47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on the land.

48Jesus saw that the disciples were having trouble rowing, because the wind was against them. Between three and six in the morning, during the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. He was about to walk past them,

49but when they saw Him walking on the water, they thought He was a ghost. They cried out,

50Because they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke to them right away. He said: Be brave! It is I. Do not be afraid.

51Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were completely amazed,

52Because they still did not understand about the loaves. Their hearts were hard.

53When they had crossed the lake, they came to the shore at Gennesaret and tied up the boat.

54As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus.

55They ran through that whole area, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

56Wherever Jesus went — into villages, towns, or the countryside — the people laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged Him to let them touch even the edge of His coat, and all who touched Him were healed.