Mark 2 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
1 A few days later Jesus returned home to Capernaum, and news spread that he was there.
1 Καὶ εἰσῆλθε πάλιν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ δι᾽ ἡμερῶν καὶ ἠκούσθη ὅτι εἰς οἶκόν ἐστι.
2 So many people crowded inside the house that it was packed, even outside the door, as Jesus explained the message to them.
2 καὶ εὐθέως συνήχθησαν πολλοί, ὥστε μηκέτι χωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν· καὶ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς τὸν λόγον.
3 Four men had brought a man who was paralyzed,
3 καὶ ἔρχονται πρὸς αὐτὸν παραλυτικὸν φέροντες, αἰρόμενον ὑπὸ τεσσάρων·
4 but they could not get near Jesus because of the crowds. So they went up on the roof and took it apart. After they had made an opening above Jesus, they lowered down the mat with the paralyzed man lying on it.
4 καὶ μὴ δυνάμενοι προσεγγίσαι αὐτῷ διὰ τὸν ὄχλον, ἀπεστέγασαν τὴν στέγην ὅπου ἦν, καὶ ἐξορύξαντες χαλῶσι τὸν κράβαττον, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ ὁ παραλυτικὸς κατέκειτο.
5 When Jesus saw the trust these men had, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
5 ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ· τέκνον, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου.
6 Some of the religious teachers sitting there thought to themselves,
6 ἦσαν δέ τινες τῶν γραμματέων ἐκεῖ καθήμενοι καὶ διαλογιζόμενοι ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν·
7 “Why is he talking like this? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins? Only God can do that!”
7 τί οὗτος οὕτω λαλεῖ βλασφημίας; τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ Θεός;
8 Jesus knew right away what they were thinking. He said to them, “Why are you thinking like this?
8 καὶ εὐθέως ἐπιγνοὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῷ πνεύματι αὐτοῦ ὅτι οὕτως αὐτοὶ διαλογίζονται ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· τί ταῦτα διαλογίζεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν;
9 What's easier: to say to the paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and walk’?
9 τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν τῷ παραλυτικῷ, ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ περιπάτει;
10 But to convince you that the Son of man has the right to forgive sins,
10 ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅτι ἐξουσίαν ἔχει ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφιέναι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἁμαρτίας — λέγει τῷ παραλυτικῷ·
11 I say to you (the paralyzed man), ‘Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.’”
11 σοὶ λέγω, ἔγειρε καὶ ἆρον τὸν κράβαττόν σου καὶ ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου.
12 He stood up, picked up his mat, and walked out in front of everyone there. They were all amazed, and praised God, saying, “We've never ever seen anything like this!”
12 καὶ ἠγέρθη εὐθέως, καὶ ἄρας τὸν κράβαττον ἐξῆλθεν ἐναντίον πάντων, ὥστε ἐξίστασθαι πάντας καὶ δοξάζειν τὸν Θεὸν λέγοντας ὅτι οὐδέποτε οὕτως εἴδομεν.
13 Jesus went out beside the sea once more and taught the crowds that came to him.
13 Καὶ ἐξῆλθε πάλιν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἤρχετο πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτούς.
14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him. Levi got up and followed Jesus.
14 Καὶ παράγων εἶδε Λευῒν τὸν τοῦ Ἀλφαίου, καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· ἀκολούθει μοι. καὶ ἀναστὰς ἠκολούθησεν αὐτῷ.
15 That evening Jesus ate dinner at Levi's house. Many tax collectors and “sinners” joined Jesus and his disciples for the meal, for there were many of these people that followed Jesus.
15 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ κατακεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ πολλοὶ τελῶναι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ συνανέκειντο τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· ἦσαν γὰρ πολλοί, καὶ ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
16 When the religious leaders of the Pharisees saw Jesus eating with such people, they asked Jesus' disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
16 καὶ οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἰδόντες αὐτὸν ἐσθίοντα μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἔλεγον τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ· τί ὅτι μετὰ τῶν τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν ἐσθίει καὶ πίνει;
17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “It's not healthy people who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I haven't come to invite those who live right, but those who don't—the sinners.”
17 καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰησοῦς λέγει αὐτοῖς· οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες· οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν.
18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some of them came to Jesus, and asked him, “Why is it that John's disciples and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't?”
18 Καὶ ἦσαν οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων νηστεύοντες. καὶ ἔρχονται καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· διατί οἱ μαθηταὶ Ἰωάννου καὶ οἱ τῶν Φαρισαίων νηστεύουσιν, οἱ δὲ σοὶ μαθηταὶ οὐ νηστεύουσι;
19 “Do wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” Jesus asked them. “No. While the bridegroom's with them, they can't fast.
19 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ δύνανται οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος, ἐν ᾧ ὁ νυμφίος μετ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐστι, νηστεύειν; ὅσον χρόνον μεθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν ἔχουσι τὸν νυμφίον, οὐ δύνανται νηστεύειν.
20 But the day is coming when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they'll fast.
20 ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι ὅταν ἀπαρθῇ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν ὁ νυμφίος, καὶ τότε νηστεύσουσιν ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις.
21 No one puts a patch that's not shrunk on old clothes. Otherwise the new piece will shrink away from the old, and make the tear worse.
21 οὐδεὶς ἐπίβλημα ῥάκους ἀγνάφου ἐπιρράπτει ἐπὶ ἱματίῳ παλαιῷ· εἰ δὲ μήγε, αἴρει τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτοῦ, τὸ καινὸν τοῦ παλαιοῦ, καὶ χεῖρον σχίσμα γίνεται.
22 No one puts new wine in old wineskins. Otherwise the wine will burst the wineskins, and both the wine and wineskins will be wasted. No. You put new wine in new wineskins.”
22 καὶ οὐδεὶς βάλλει οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς παλαιούς· εἰ δὲ μή, ῥήσσει ὁ οἶνος ὁ νέος τοὺς ἀσκούς, καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἐκχεῖται καὶ οἱ ἀσκοὶ ἀπολοῦνται· ἀλλὰ οἶνον νέον εἰς ἀσκοὺς καινοὺς βλητέον.
23 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through the grain fields, his disciples started picking heads of grain as they walked along.
23 Καὶ ἐγένετο παραπορεύεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς σάββασι διὰ τῶν σπορίμων, καὶ ἤρξαντο οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ὁδὸν ποιεῖν τίλλοντες τοὺς στάχυας.
24 The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Look, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?”
24 καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι ἔλεγον αὐτῷ· ἴδε τί ποιοῦσιν ἐν τοῖς σάββασιν ὃ οὐκ ἔξεστι.
25 “Haven't you ever read what David did when he and his men were hungry and in need?” Jesus asked them.
25 καὶ αὐτὸς ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε τί ἐποίησε Δαυῒδ ὅτε χρείαν ἔσχε καὶ ἐπείνασεν αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ;
26 “He went into God's house when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the consecrated bread which no one except the priests are permitted to eat, and gave it to his men too.”
26 πῶς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ Ἀβιάθαρ ἀρχιερέως καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους τῆς προθέσεως ἔφαγεν, οὓς οὐκ ἔξεστι φαγεῖν εἰ μὴ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι, καὶ ἔδωκε καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ οὖσι;
27 “The Sabbath was made for your benefit, not for you to benefit the Sabbath,” he told them.
27 καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· τὸ σάββατον διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐγένετο, οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ σάββατον·
28 “So the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
28 ὥστε κύριός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τοῦ σαββάτου.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Alphaeus
Named as father of James, one of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3), and as the father of Levi the tax collector (Mark 2:14); the text does not say whether these are two different men…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 10:3; Mark 2:14; Mark 3:18
Matthew
A tax collector sitting at the tax booth whom Jesus told 'Follow Me'; Matthew calls him Matthew, while Mark and Luke tell the same call and name him Levi, and Mark 2:14 calls Levi…
Cited in the guide: Matthew 9:9; Matthew 10:3; Mark 2:14
Places
Capernaum
A fishing and customs town on the Sea of Galilee where Jesus healed, taught, and called disciples. Its ruins include a 4th–5th c. synagogue built over an earlier one.
Cited in the guide: Matthew 4:13; Mark 2:1; Matthew 11:23
Cross references (28)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Luke 5:18; John 4:47; Luke 18:35–38; Matthew 9:1; Mark 7:24
- 2 Mark 2:13; Mark 1:45; Mark 6:34; Mark 1:33; Mark 4:1–2
- 3 Luke 5:18–26; Matthew 9:1–8; Matthew 4:24
- 4 Luke 5:19; Deuteronomy 22:8
- 5 Matthew 9:2; James 5:15; Mark 2:9–10; Luke 7:47–50; Luke 5:20
- 6 Luke 5:21–22; Mark 8:17; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Matthew 16:7–8
- 7 Isaiah 43:25; Luke 5:21; Daniel 9:9; Micah 7:18; Luke 7:49
- 8 Psalm 139:2; Ezekiel 38:10; John 2:24–25; John 6:64; Luke 24:38
- 9 Luke 5:22–25; Matthew 9:5
- 10 Daniel 7:13–14; Matthew 9:6–8; Acts 5:31; John 5:20–27; 1 Timothy 1:13–16
- 11 Mark 1:41; John 5:8–10; John 6:63
- 12 Matthew 9:33; Matthew 9:8; Luke 7:16; John 9:32; John 7:31
- 13 Proverbs 1:20–22; Mark 4:1; Luke 21:38; Mark 3:20–21; Mark 2:2
- 14 Luke 5:27–32; Mark 1:17–20; Luke 6:15; Matthew 9:9–13; Mark 3:18
- 15 Luke 15:1; Matthew 9:10–11; Luke 5:29–30; Matthew 21:31–32; Luke 6:17
- 16 Luke 18:11; Luke 19:7; Luke 19:10; Acts 23:9; Isaiah 65:5
- 17 Luke 15:7; Matthew 9:12–13; Luke 19:10; Luke 5:31–32; 1 Timothy 1:15–16
- 18 Luke 18:12; Matthew 6:18; Matthew 9:14–17; Matthew 6:16; Luke 5:33–39
- 19 Matthew 25:1–10; Genesis 29:22; Judges 14:10–11
- 20 Luke 17:22; Revelation 21:9; Isaiah 62:5; Revelation 19:7; Zechariah 13:7
- 21 Matthew 9:16; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Isaiah 57:16; Psalm 103:13–15
- 22 Matthew 9:17; Psalm 119:83; Luke 5:37–38; Job 32:19; Joshua 9:4
- 23 Deuteronomy 23:24–25; Matthew 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5
- 24 Exodus 20:10; Hebrews 12:3; Matthew 12:2; Isaiah 58:13; Exodus 31:15
- 25 1 Samuel 21:3–6; Luke 10:26
- 26 2 Samuel 8:17; Leviticus 24:5–9; 1 Samuel 21:1; 1 Chronicles 24:6; 1 Kings 2:26–27
- 27 Colossians 2:16; Luke 6:9; Deuteronomy 5:14; Ezekiel 20:12; Isaiah 58:13
- 28 Matthew 12:8; Revelation 1:10; John 9:14; John 5:17; Ephesians 1:22
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Thy bed did carry thee, thou carriedst not thy bed, but wast a paralytic inwardly; He cometh who saith to thee, "Take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house." "The Lord help him on his bed of pain." Then to the Lord Himself He turneth, as though it were asked, Why then, since the Lord helpeth us, …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)
Now Matthew indeed saith, that "they brought him," but the others, that they also broke up the roof, and let him down. And they put the sick man before Christ, saying nothing, but committing the whole to Him.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Or in another sense they are used of a thing which is not reasonable; as, Can the Children of the Bridechamber fast while the Bridegroom is with them; whether He be considered as visible in bodily form (for the time of His sojourning among us was not one of mourning, but of gladness), or, as the Word.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 7 (1894)
Upon their murmuring, then, and saying, "This man blasphemeth; who can forgive sins but God only?" let us see what He saith.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
And we have cause also to admire the self-denial of the evangelist, how he disguises not his own former life, but adds even his name, when the others had concealed him under another appellation. But why did he say he was "sitting at the receipt of custom?" To indicate the power of Him that called him, that it was not …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)