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

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

 c “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way,

3  d the voice of one crying in the wilderness:

 e ‘Prepare [3] the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight,’”

4[†] f John appeared, baptizing in  g the wilderness and proclaiming  h a baptism of  i repentance  j for the forgiveness of sins. 5[†]And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan,  k confessing their sins. 6[†]Now John was  l clothed with camel’s hair and  l wore a leather belt around his waist and ate  m locusts and  n wild honey. 7[†]And he preached, saying,  o “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 p I have baptized you with water, but  q he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

9[†] r In those days Jesus  s 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  t saw  u the heavens being torn open  v and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And  w a voice came from heaven,  x “You are my beloved Son; [4] with you I am well pleased.”

12[†] y The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 y And he was in the wilderness forty days, being  z tempted by  a Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and  b the angels were ministering to him.

14[†] c Now after John was arrested, Jesus  d came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15and saying,  e “The time is fulfilled, and  f the kingdom of God is at hand;  g repent and believe in the gospel.”

16[†] h Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17[†]And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become  i fishers of men.” [5] 18And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20[†]And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

21[†] j And they went into Capernaum, and immediately  k on the Sabbath  l he entered the synagogue and was teaching. 22[†]And  m they were astonished at his teaching,  m 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. And he cried out, 24 n “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?  o I know who you are— p the Holy One of God.” 25But Jesus  q rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” 26[†]And the unclean spirit,  r convulsing him and  s crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 27And they were all  t amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this?  u A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” 28And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.

29 v And immediately he [6]  w left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30Now  x Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31And he came and  y took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

32[†]That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or  z oppressed by demons. 33And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 a And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And  b he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

35[†] c And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and  d there he prayed. 36And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37[†]and they found him and said to him,  e “Everyone is looking for you.” 38And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for  f that is why I came out.” 39 g And  h he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

40[†] i And a leper [7] came to him, imploring him, and  j kneeling said to him,  k “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.” 42And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. 43And  l Jesus [8] sternly charged him and sent him away at once, 44[†]and said to him,  m “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go,  n show yourself to the priest and  o offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded,  p for a proof to them.” 45[†] q But he went out and began to talk freely about it, and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter  r a town, but was out in  r desolate places, and  s people were coming to him from every quarter.