Mark 1

Revised Standard Version

The Proclamation of John the Baptist

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.^[a]

2 ^As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,^[b]

“Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,

who shall prepare thy way;

3 ^the voice of one crying in the wilderness:

Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight—”

4 ^John the baptizer appeared^[c] in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ ^And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁶ ^Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ ^And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ ^I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism of Jesus

9 ^In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ ^And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; ¹¹ ^and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art my beloved Son;^[d] with thee I am well pleased.”

The Temptation of Jesus

12 ^The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. ¹³ ^And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.

The Beginning of the Galilean Ministry

14 ^Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, ¹⁵ ^and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 ^And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. ¹⁷ ^And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men.” ¹⁸ ^And immediately they left their nets and followed him. ¹⁹ ^And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zeb′edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. ²⁰ ^And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zeb′edee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

The Man with an Unclean Spirit

21 ^And they went into Caper′na-um; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. ²² ^And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ ^And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; ²⁴ ^and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” ²⁵ ^But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” ²⁶ ^And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. ²⁷ ^And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” ²⁸ ^And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

Jesus Heals Many at Simon’s House

29 ^And immediately he^[e] left the synagogue, and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. ³⁰ ^Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told him of her. ³¹ ^And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her; and she served them.

32 ^That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. ³³ ^And the whole city was gathered together about the door. ³⁴ ^And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

A Preaching Tour in Galilee

35 ^And in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed. ³⁶ ^And Simon and those who were with him pursued him, ³⁷ ^and they found him and said to him, “Every one is searching for you.” ³⁸ ^And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also; for that is why I came out.” ³⁹ ^And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus Cleanses a Leper

40 ^And a leper came to him beseeching him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” ⁴¹ ^Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I will; be clean.” ⁴² ^And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. ⁴³ ^And he sternly charged him, and sent him away at once, ⁴⁴ ^and said to him, “See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.”^[f] ⁴⁵ ^But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus^[g] could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

Footnotes

Mark 1:1 Other ancient authorities omit the Son of God
Mark 1:2 Other ancient authorities read in the prophets
Mark 1:4 Other ancient authorities read John was baptizing
Mark 1:11 Or my Son, my *(or *the) Beloved
Mark 1:29 Other ancient authorities read they
Mark 1:44 Greek to them
Mark 1:45 Greek he