Mark 6:7-56

71And 2He summoned the twelve and began to send them out 3in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; 84and He instructed them that they were to take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff--no bread, no 5bag, no money in their belt-- 9but 6to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not wear two 7tunics.” 10And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you 8leave town. 11Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, 9shake the dust 10off the soles of your feet as a testimony against them.” 1211And they went out and 12preached that people are to repent. 13And they were casting out many demons and 13were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

1414And King Herod heard about it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “15John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15But others were saying, “He is 16Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is 17a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16But when Herod heard about it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”

17For Herod himself had sent men and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of 18Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18For John had been saying to Herod, “19It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19And 20Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death, and could not do so; 20for 21Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he had been protecting him. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; and yet he 22used to enjoy listening to him. 21An opportune day came when Herod, on his birthday, 23held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders, and the leading people 24of Galilee; 22and when the daughter of 25Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and 26his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to 27half of my kingdom.” 24And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and 28his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. 27Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When his disciples heard about this, they came and carried away his body, and laid it in a tomb.

3029The 30apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31And He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and 31they did not even have time to eat.) 3232And they went away in 33the boat to a secluded place by themselves. 33The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus went 34ashore, He 35saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because 36they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35And when it was already late, His disciples came up to Him and said, “37This place is secluded and it is already late; 36send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves 38something to eat.” 37But He answered them, “You give them something to eat!” 39And they said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred 4041denarii on bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39And He ordered them all to recline by groups on the green grass. 40They reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He 42blessed the food and broke the loaves and He gave them to the disciples again and again to set before them; and He divided the two fish among them all. 42And they all ate and were satisfied; 43and they picked up twelve full 43baskets of the broken pieces of bread, and of the fish. 44There were 44five thousand 45men who ate the loaves.

4546And immediately Jesus had His disciples get into 47the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, to 48Bethsaida, while He Himself dismissed the crowd. 46And after 49saying goodbye to them, He left 50for the mountain to pray.

47When it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48Seeing them 51straining at the oars--for the wind was against them--at about the 5253fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea; and He intended to pass by them. 49But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and they cried out; 50for they all saw Him and were 54terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and said to them, “55Take courage; it is I, 56do not be afraid.” 51Then He got into 57the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly astonished, 52for 58they 59had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but 60their hearts 61were hardened.

5362When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. 54And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, 63to wherever they heard He was. 56And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just 64touch 65the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being 66healed.