Mark 6:47-56

6:47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea and he was alone on the land. 6:48 He ¹  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ²  he came to them walking on the sea, ³  for ⁴  he wanted to pass by them. ⁵  6:49 When they saw him walking on the water ⁶  they thought he was a ghost. They ⁷  cried out, 6:50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them: ⁸  “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 6:51 Then he went up with them into the boat, and the wind ceased. They were completely astonished, 6:52 because they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Healing the Sick

6:53 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret ⁹  and anchored there. 6:54 As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. ¹⁰  6:55 They ran through that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever he was rumored to be. ¹¹  6:56 And wherever he would go – into villages, towns, or countryside – they would place the sick in the marketplaces, and would ask him if ¹²  they could just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

¹ tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

² tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

³ tn Or “on the lake.”

⁴ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

⁵ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.

⁶ tn Grk “on the sea,” “on the lake.” The translation “water” has been used here for stylistic reasons (cf. the same phrase in v. 48).

⁷ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

⁸ tn Grk “he spoke with them, and said to them.”

⁹ sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Matt 14:34). This name was also sometimes used for the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1).

¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Grk “wherever they heard he was.”

¹² tn Grk “asked that they might touch.”