MARK 10 [†] z And he left there and went  a to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them.

2[†]And Pharisees came up and in order  b to test him asked,  c “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” 3He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” 4[†]They said,  d “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5[†]And Jesus said to them, “Because of your  e hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But  f from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them  g male and female.’ 7 h ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, [1] 8and  i the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 j What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

10[†]And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11And he said to them,  k “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, 12[†]and  l if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

13[†] m And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples  n rebuked them. 14But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them,  o “Let the children come to me;  p do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 q Truly, I say to you, whoever does not  r receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16And  s he took them in his arms and blessed them,  t laying his hands on them.

17[†] u And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and  v knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to  w inherit eternal life?” 18[†]And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19[†]You know the commandments:  x ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20[†]And he said to him, “Teacher,  y all these I have kept from my youth.” 21[†]And Jesus,  z looking at him,  a loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go,  b sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have  c treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22[†] d Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23[†]And Jesus  e looked around and said to his disciples,  f “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter  g the kingdom of God!” 24[†]And the disciples  h were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again,  i “Children,  j how difficult it is [2] to enter  g the kingdom of God! 25[†]It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter  g the kingdom of God.” 26And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, [3] “Then who can be saved?” 27Jesus  k looked at them and said,  l “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28Peter began to say to him, “See,  m we have left everything and followed you.” 29[†]Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you,  n there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and  o for the gospel, 30who will not receive a hundredfold  p now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,  q with persecutions, and in  r the age to come eternal life. 31[†]But  s many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

32[†] t And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and  u Jesus was walking ahead of them. And  v they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33[†]saying, “See,  w we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will  x condemn him to death and  y deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34And they will  z mock him and  a spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And  b after three days he will rise.”

35[†] c And James and John,  d the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us  e whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them,  f “What do you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us  g to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left,  h in your glory.” 38[†]Jesus said to them,  i “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able  j to drink the cup that I drink, or  k to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” 39[†]And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them,  l “The cup that I drink  m you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized,  n you will be baptized, 40[†]but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant,  o but it is for those for whom it has been  p prepared.” 41[†]And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42[†] q And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles  r lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43[†]But  s it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, [4] 44and whoever would be first among you must be  t slave [5] of all. 45[†]For even the Son of Man came not to be served but  u to serve, and  v to give his life as a ransom for  w many.”

46[†] x And they came to Jericho. And  y as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus,  z a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. 47[†]And when he heard that it was  a Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 48[†]And many  b rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 49[†]And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him,  c “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” 50And throwing off his  d cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. 51[†]And Jesus said to him,  e “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him,  f “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” 52[†]And Jesus said to him, “Go your way;  g your faith has  h made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.