Mark 6:1-20

Rejection at Nazareth

6:1 Now ¹  Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, ²  and his disciples followed him. 6:2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. ³  Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? ⁴  And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son ⁵  of Mary ⁶  and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him. 6:4 Then ⁷  Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.” 6:5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6:6 And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then ⁸  he went around among the villages and taught.

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus ⁹  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ¹⁰  6:8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff ¹¹  – no bread, no bag, ¹²  no money in their belts – 6:9 and to put on sandals but not to wear two tunics. ¹³  6:10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there ¹⁴  until you leave the area. 6:11 If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off ¹⁵  your feet as a testimony against them.” 6:12 So ¹⁶  they went out and preached that all should repent. 6:13 They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

6:14 Now ¹⁷  King Herod ¹⁸  heard this, for Jesus’ ¹⁹  name had become known. Some ²⁰  were saying, “John the baptizer ²¹  has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 6:15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets from the past.” 6:16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised!” 6:17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod ²²  had married her. 6:18 For John had repeatedly told ²³  Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ²⁴  6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But ²⁵  she could not 6:20 because Herod stood in awe of ²⁶  John and protected him, since he knew that John ²⁷  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod ²⁸  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, ²⁹  and yet ³⁰  he liked to listen to John. ³¹ 

[6:1]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[6:1]  ² sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.

[6:2]  ³ sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.

[6:2]  ⁴ tn Or “this teaching”; Grk “these things.” The response of the people centers upon the content of Jesus’ teaching, so the phrase “these ideas” was supplied in the text to make this clear.

[6:3]  ⁵ tc Evidently because of the possible offensiveness of designating Jesus a carpenter, several mss ([Ì^45vid] ˹³ 33^vid [565 579] 700 [2542] pc it vg^mss) harmonize the words “carpenter, the son” to the parallel passage in Matt 13:55, “the son of the carpenter.” Almost all the rest of the mss read “the carpenter, the son.” Since the explicit designation of Jesus as a carpenter is the more difficult reading, and is much better attested, it is most likely correct.

[6:3]  ⁶ sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to him as the son of Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).

[6:4]  ⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:6]  ⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[6:7]  ⁹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ¹⁰ sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[6:8]  ¹¹ sn Neither Matt 10:9-10 nor Luke 9:3 allow for a staff. It might be that Matthew and Luke mean not taking an extra staff, or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light,” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

[6:8]  ¹² tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[6:9]  ¹³ tn Or “shirts” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a “tunic” was any more than they would be familiar with a “chiton.” On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

[6:10]  ¹⁴ sn Jesus telling his disciples to stay there in one house contrasts with the practice of religious philosophers in the ancient world who went from house to house begging.

[6:11]  ¹⁵ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[6:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[6:14]  ¹⁸ sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ²⁰ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:14]  ²¹ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[6:17]  ²² tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.

[6:18]  ²³ tn The imperfect tense verb is here rendered with an iterative force.

[6:18]  ²⁴ sn It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife. This was a violation of OT law (Lev 18:16; 20:21). In addition, both Herod Antipas and Herodias had each left marriages to enter into this union.

[6:19]  ²⁵ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[6:20]  ²⁶ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

[6:20]  ²⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ²⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:20]  ²⁹ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

[6:20]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

[6:20]  ³¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.