Mark 6:7-8

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus ¹  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ²  6:8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff ³  – no bread, no bag, ⁴  no money in their belts –

[6:7]  ¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ² sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[6:8]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).