Day: 17 February 2024

The Bible – New Testament

Saint Mark

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

Sain Mark

Chapter 1

1

1 2 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Son of God).

2

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: 3 “Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way.

3

A voice of one crying out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'”

4

John (the) Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

5

People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

6

John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. 4 He fed on locusts and wild honey.

7

And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.

8

5 I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.”

9

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.

10

On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. 6

11

And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

12

7 At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert,

13

and he remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

14

After John had been arrested, 8 Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:

15

“This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

16

9 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.

17

Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

18

Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.

19

He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.

20

Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

21

10 Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught.

22

The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

23

11 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;

24

12 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, 13 Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!”

25

Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!”

26

The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

27

All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.”

28

His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

29

On leaving the synagogue he entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.

30

Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her.

31

He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

32

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

33

The whole town was gathered at the door.

34

He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

35

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

36

Simon and those who were with him pursued him

37

and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38

He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”

39

So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

40

A leper 14 came to him (and kneeling down) begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

41

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

42

The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.

43

Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once.

44

Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

45

The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere.

 
1 [1-13] The prologue of the Gospel according to Mark begins with the title (⇒ Mark 1:1) followed by three events preparatory to Jesus’ preaching: (1) the appearance in the Judean wilderness of John, baptizer, preacher of repentance, and precursor of Jesus (⇒ Mark 1:2-8); (2) the baptism of Jesus, at which a voice from heaven acknowledges Jesus to be God’s Son, and the holy Spirit descends on him (⇒ Mark 1:9-11); (3) the temptation of Jesus by Satan (⇒ Mark 1:12-13).
2 [1] The gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God]: the “good news” of salvation in and through Jesus, crucified and risen, acknowledged by the Christian community as Messiah (⇒ Mark 8:29; ⇒ 14:61-62) and Son of God (⇒ Mark 1:11; ⇒ 9:7; ⇒ 15:39), although some important manuscripts here omit the Son of God.
3 [2-3] Although Mark attributes the prophecy to Isaiah, the text is a combination of ⇒ Malachi 3:1; ⇒ Isaiah 40:3; ⇒ Exodus 23:20; cf ⇒ Matthew 11:10; ⇒ Luke 7:27. John’s ministry is seen as God’s prelude to the saving mission of his Son. The way of the Lord: this prophecy of Deutero-Isaiah concerning the end of the Babylonian exile is here applied to the coming of Jesus; John the Baptist is to prepare the way for him.
4 [6] Clothed in camel’s hair . . . waist: the Baptist’s garb recalls that of Elijah in ⇒ 2 Kings 1:8. Jesus speaks of the Baptist as Elijah who has already come (⇒ Mark 9:11-13; ⇒ Matthew 17:10-12; cf ⇒ Malachi 3:23-24; ⇒ Luke 1:17).
5 [8-9] Through the life-giving baptism with the holy Spirit (⇒ Mark 1:8), Jesus will create a new people of God. But first he identifies himself with the people of Israel in submitting to John’s baptism of repentance and in bearing on their behalf the burden of God’s decisive judgment (⇒ Mark 1:9; cf ⇒ Mark 1:4). As in the desert of Sinai, so here in the wilderness of Judea, Israel’s sonship with God is to be renewed.
6 [10-11] He saw the heavens . . . and the Spirit . . . upon him: indicating divine intervention in fulfillment of promise. Here the descent of the Spirit on Jesus is meant, anointing him for his ministry; cf ⇒ Isaiah 11:2; ⇒ 42:1; ⇒ 61:1; ⇒ 63:9. A voice . . . with you I am well pleased: God’s acknowledgment of Jesus as his unique Son, the object of his love. His approval of Jesus is the assurance that Jesus will fulfill his messianic mission of salvation.
7 [12-13] The same Spirit who descended on Jesus in his baptism now drives him into the desert for forty days. The result is radical confrontation and temptation by Satan who attempts to frustrate the work of God. The presence of wild beasts may indicate the horror and danger of the desert regarded as the abode of demons or may reflect the paradise motif of harmony among all creatures; cf ⇒ Isaiah 11:6-9. The presence of ministering angels to sustain Jesus recalls the angel who guided the Israelites in the desert in the first Exodus (⇒ Exodus 14:19; ⇒ 23:20) and the angel who supplied nourishment to Elijah in the wilderness (⇒ 1 Kings 19:5-7). The combined forces of good and evil were present to Jesus in the desert. His sustained obedience brings forth the new Israel of God there where Israel’s rebellion had brought death and alienation.
8 [14-15] After John had been arrested: in the plan of God, Jesus was not to proclaim the good news of salvation prior to the termination of the Baptist’s active mission. Galilee: in the Marcan account, scene of the major part of Jesus’ public ministry before his arrest and condemnation. The gospel of God: not only the good news from God but about God at work in Jesus Christ. This is the time of fulfillment: i.e., of God’s promises. The kingdom of God . . . repent: see the note on ⇒ Matthew 3:2.
9 [16-20] These verses narrate the call of the first Disciples. See the notes on ⇒ Matthew 4:18-22 and ⇒ Matthew 4:20.
10 [21-45] The account of a single day’s ministry of Jesus on a sabbath in and outside the synagogue of Capernaum (⇒ Mark 1:21-31) combines teaching and miracles of exorcism and healing. Mention is not made of the content of the teaching but of the effect of astonishment and alarm on the people. Jesus’ teaching with authority, making an absolute claim on the hearer, was in the best tradition of the ancient prophets, not of the scribes. The narrative continues with events that evening (⇒ Mark 1:32-34; see the notes on ⇒ Matthew 8:14-17) and the next day (⇒ Mark 1:35-39). The cleansing in ⇒ Mark 1:40-45 stands as an isolated story.
11 [23] An unclean spirit: so called because of the spirit’s resistance to the holiness of God. The spirit knows and fears the power of Jesus to destroy his influence; cf ⇒ Mark 1:32, ⇒ 34; ⇒ 3:11; ⇒ 6:13.
12 [24-25] The Holy One of God: not a confession but an attempt to ward off Jesus’ power, reflecting the notion that use of the precise name of an opposing spirit would guarantee mastery over him. Jesus silenced the cry of the unclean spirit and drove him out of the man.
13 [24] What have you to do with us?: see the note on ⇒ John 2:4.
14 [40] A leper: for the various forms of skin disease, see ⇒ Lev 13:1-50 and the note on ⇒ Lev 13:2-4. There are only two instances in the Old Testament in which God is shown to have cured a leper (⇒ Numbers 12:10-15; ⇒ 2 Kings 5:1-14). The law of Moses provided for the ritual purification of a leper. In curing the leper, Jesus assumes that the priests will reinstate the cured man into the religious community. See also the note on ⇒ Luke 5:14.

Index

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.

The Bible – New Testament

1 Peter

Index

 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

St.-Peter

Chapter 3

1

1 Likewise, you wives should be subordinate to your husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct

2

when they observe your reverent and chaste behavior.

3

Your adornment should not be an external one: braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, or dressing in fine clothes,

4

but rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the imperishable beauty of a gentle and calm disposition, which is precious in the sight of God.

5

For this is also how the holy women who hoped in God once used to adorn themselves and were subordinate to their husbands;

6

thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him “lord.” You are her children when you do what is good and fear no intimidation.

7

Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. 2

8

3 Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble.

9

Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing.

10

For: “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit,

11

must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it.

12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers.”

13

4 Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good?

14

But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them,

15

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,

16

but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.

17

For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.

18

For Christ also suffered 5 for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.

19

In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison, 6

20

who had once been disobedient while God patiently waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all, were saved through water.

21

This prefigured baptism, which saves you now. It is not a removal of dirt from the body but an appeal to God 7 for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

22

who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

1 [1-6] The typical marital virtues of women of the ancient world, obedience, reverence, and chastity (⇒ 1 Peter 3:1-2), are outlined here by the author, who gives them an entirely new motivation: Christian wives are to be virtuous so that they may be instrumental in the conversion of their husbands. In imitation of holy women in the past (⇒ 1 Peter 3:5) they are to cultivate the interior life (⇒ 1 Peter 3:4) instead of excessive concern with their appearance (⇒ 1 Peter 3:3).
2 [7] Husbands who do not respect their wives will have as little success in prayer as those who, according to Paul, have no love: their prayers will be “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal” (⇒ 1 Cor 13:1). Consideration for others is shown as a prerequisite for effective prayer also in ⇒ Matthew 5:23-24; ⇒ 1 Cor 11:20-22; ⇒ James 4:3. After all, whatever the social position of women in the world and in the family, they are equal recipients of the gift of God’s salvation. Paul is very clear on this point, too (see ⇒ 1 Cor 11:11-12; ⇒ Gal 3:28).
3 [8-12] For the proper ordering of Christian life in its various aspects as described in ⇒ 1 Peter 2:11-⇒ 3:9, there is promised the blessing expressed in ⇒ Psalm 34:13-17. In the Old Testament this refers to longevity and prosperity; here, it also refers to eternal life.
4 [13-22] This exposition, centering on ⇒ 1 Peter 3:17, runs as follows: by his suffering and death Christ the righteous one saved the unrighteous (⇒ 1 Peter 3:18); by his resurrection he received new life in the spirit, which he communicates to believers through the baptismal bath that cleanses their consciences from sin. As Noah’s family was saved through water, so Christians are saved through the waters of baptism (⇒ 1 Peter 3:19-22). Hence they need not share the fear of sinners; they should rather rejoice in suffering because of their hope in Christ. Thus their innocence disappoints their accusers (⇒ 1 Peter 3:13-16; cf ⇒ Matthew 10:28; ⇒ Romans 8:35-39).
5 [18] Suffered: very many ancient manuscripts and versions read “died.” Put to death in the flesh: affirms that Jesus truly died as a human being. Brought to life in the spirit: that is, in the new and transformed existence freed from the limitations and weaknesses of natural human life (cf ⇒ 1 Cor 15:45).
6 [19] The spirits in prison: it is not clear just who these spirits are. They may be the spirits of the sinners who died in the flood, or angelic powers, hostile to God, who have been overcome by Christ (cf ⇒ 1 Peter 3:22; ⇒ Genesis 6:4; Enoch 6-36, especially ⇒ 1 Peter 3:21:6; 2 Enoch 7:1-5).
7 [21] Appeal to God: this could also be translated “pledge,” that is, a promise on the part of Christians to live with a good conscience before God, or a pledge from God of forgiveness and therefore a good conscience for us.

Index

 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The Bible – Old Testament

 Genesis

Genesis

Chapter 9

1

God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them: “Be fertile and multiply and fill the earth.

2

Dread fear of you shall come upon all the animals of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon all the creatures that move about on the ground and all the fishes of the sea; into your power they are delivered.

3

1 Every creature that is alive shall be yours to eat; I give them all to you as I did the green plants.

4

2 Only flesh with its lifeblood still in it you shall not eat.

5

For your own lifeblood, too, I will demand an accounting: from every animal I will demand it, and from man in regard to his fellow man I will demand an accounting for human life.

6

If anyone sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; For in the image of God has man been made.

7

Be fertile, then, and multiply; abound on earth and subdue it.”

8

God said to Noah and to his sons with him:

9

“See, I am now establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you

10

and with every living creature that was with you: all the birds, and the various tame and wild animals that were with you and came out of the ark.

11

I will establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all bodily creatures be destroyed by the waters of a flood; there shall not be another flood to devastate the earth.”

12

God added: “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come, of the covenant between me and you and every living creature with you:

13

I set my bow in the clouds to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

14

When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds,

15

I will recall the covenant I have made between me and you and all living beings, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all mortal beings.

16

As the bow appears in the clouds, I will see it and recall the everlasting covenant that I have established between God and all living beings – all mortal creatures that are on earth.”

17

God told Noah: “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all mortal creatures that are on earth.”

18

3 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)

19

These three were the sons of Noah, and from them the whole earth was peopled.

20

Now Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard.

21

When he drank some of the wine, he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent.

22

Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside about it.

23

Shem and Japheth, however, took a robe, and holding it on their backs, they walked backward and covered their father’s nakedness; since their faces were turned the other way, they did not see their father’s nakedness.

24

When Noah woke up from his drunkenness and learned what his youngest son had done to him,

25

he said: “Cursed be Caanan! The lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”

26

4 He also said: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave.

27

5 May God expand Japheth, so that he dwells among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.”

28

Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

29

The whole lifetime of Noah was nine hundred and fifty years; then he died.

1 [3] Antediluvian creatures, including man, are depicted as vegetarians (⇒ Genesis 1:29-30), becoming carnivorous only after the flood.
2 [4] Because a living being dies when it loses most of its blood, the ancients regarded blood as the seat of life, and therefore as sacred. Although in itself the prohibition against eating meat with blood in it is comparable to the ritual laws of the Mosaic code, the Jews considered it binding on all men, because it was given by God to Noah, the new ancestor of all mankind; therefore the early Christian Church retained it for a time (⇒ Acts 15:20, ⇒ 29).
3 [18-27] This story seems to be a composite of two earlier accounts; in the one, Ham was guilty, whereas, in the other, it was Canaan. One purpose of the story is to justify the Israelites’ enslavement of the Canaanites because of certain indecent sexual practices in the Canaanite religion. Obviously the story offers no justification for enslaving African Negroes, even though Canaan is presented as a “son” of Ham because the land of Canaan belonged to Hamitic Egypt at the time of the Israelite invasion.
4 [26] Blessed . . . Shem: perhaps the text read originally, “Blessed of the LORD be Shem,” which would be expected in the context.
5 [27] In the Hebrew text there is a play on the words yapt (“expand”) and yepet (“Japheth”).