and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? 4 And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and 5 among his own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick 6 folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

7 And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and 8 two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; and command

ed them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a 9 staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: but be 10 shod with sandals; and not put on two coats. And he said unto

them, In what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till 11 ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet, for a testimony against them. Verily, I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day 12 of judgment, than for that city. 13 preached that men should repent. devils, and anointed with oil many them.

14

And they went out, and

And they cast out many that were sick, and healed

And King Herod heard of him, (for his name was spread abroad,) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in 15 him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is

12, 13. See Luke ix. 6. Anointed with oil. This was often done among the Jews, partly as a medical application, and partly as a religious ceremony. James v. 14. The apostles performed it probably as a symbolical act, and accompanied it with their healing power. See our Lord's cure of the blind man, John ix. 6, 11.

14-29. Refer to the notes on Mat. xiv. 1-12. The narrative of Mark, as usual, is more detailed than that of Matthew.

14, 16. Contemplate the harrowing power of a guilty conscience.

a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when Herod heard 16 thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold 17 upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had 18 said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would 19 have killed him; but she could not: for Herod feared John, 20 knowing that he was a just man and a holy, and observed him: and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on 21 his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; and when the daughter of the said Herodias 22 came in, and danced, and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatso- 23 ever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What 24 shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And 25 she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me, by and by, in a charger, the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet 26 for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an execu- 27 tioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison; and brought his head in a char- 28 ger, and gave it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and 29 took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.

And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and 30 told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into 31

20. Observed. Or, respected him, as some render it. Virtue compels the

veneration even of the bad.

23. The folly and danger of rash promises are here illustrated for our benefit.

26. A bad promise is better broken than kept.

30. Luke ix. 10. This verse records the fact of the return of the apostles from their mission, and their report to Jesus of what they had done, ver. 7.

31-44. Mat. xiv. 13-21, and the

notes.

1

a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and 32 going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 33 parted into a desert place by ship privately.

And they deAnd the people

saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him. 34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things. - And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is 36 far passed: send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread for 37 they have nothing to eat. He answered and said unto them,

35

Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. 39 And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. And he ::commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the 40 green grass. And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by 41 fifties. And when he had taken the five loaves, and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two 42 fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, 43 were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the frag44 ments, and of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.

and

45 And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he 46 sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he 47 departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was

33. Afoot, i. e. by land, not by sea. - And outwent them, and came together unto him. Griesbach rejects this clause, as interpolated. Considerable variations in the readings of this verse exist in different authorities.

34. The union of our Lord with humanity, and his living sympathy with its joys and griefs, were no less remarkable than his union with God. VOL. II. 3

His heart was with his brethren, as well as with his Father.

37. Two hundred pennyworth. A round sum. About $28. 40. In ranks. Literally, in beds, or plots, as of a garden.

45-56. See notes on Mat. xiv. 22-27, 32-36.

45. Bethsaida, i. e. of Galilee, on the west side of the lake, the native

come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was 48 contrary unto them and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, 49 they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out. (For they all 50 saw him, and were troubled.) And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind 51 ceased and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the 52 loaves; for their heart was hardened. And when they had 53 passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.

And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they 54 knew him, and ran through that whole region round about, 55 and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was. And whithersoever he entered, into villages, 56 or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch, if it were but the border of his garment and as many as touched him were made whole.

CHAPTER VII.

Conversations and Miracles of Jesus.

THEN came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw 2 some of his disciples eat bread with defiled (that is to say, with unwashen) hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees, and all 3

place of Peter. There was another town of the same name on the east side.

48. Jesus passes the night in prayer on the lone mountain, but early in the morning descends upon the stormy lake to relieve and guide to their destination his weary disciples, -a beautiful illustration of the aim of his religion, which comes down to us from on high, from the mount of God, to smooth the tossing sea of

life, and pilot our voyage to the haven of safety.

54. They knew him. i. e. The people knew or recognized him.

CHAPTER VII. 1-23. Compare Mat. xv. 1-20, and the notes thereupon.

2. Defiled. Literally, common, as in the English margin. Reference is made not to their actual, but to their ritual uncleanness.

the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the 4 tradition of the elders. And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and 5 pots, , and of brazen vessels, and tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the 6 tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with 7 their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit, in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of 8 men. For, laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups and many 9 other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own 10 tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; 11 and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by 12 me; he shall be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught

3, 4. An explanation for the Latin Christians. Oft. The commentators have been much puzzled by this word in the original. Some have rendered it, up to the wrist; some, up to the elbow; some, as in the text, oft, or frequently; some, with a handful of water; others, with the fist, or carefully, faithfully-which last sense seems preferable, on the whole. Tables. Couches or beds, on which persons reclined at table. We have an instance here where the word washing (in original, baptism) cannot mean immersion, since there is no reason to suppose, that these couches were immersed all over.

7. "Happy," as Doddridge observes, "had it been for the church, in all ages and nations, had men exerted that zeal for the truths and the institutions of God, in the beauty and glory of their native simplicity, which has carried them on to defend

and propagate their own inventions, till religion itself has almost sunk under the weight of the ornaments in which they have dressed it, and the unwieldy armor which they have hung about it."

9. Some point this verse so as to read it interrogatively; but there is no serious objection to understanding Full it as in some degree ironical. well. Finely.-Reject. Frustrate.

11, 12. The translation of Campbell is more easily understood: "But ye maintain, If a man say to father or mother, 'Be it Corban, (that is, devoted,) whatever of mine shall profit thee,' he must not henceforth do aught for his father or his mother."

Corban, &c. Here is another instance, where Mark adapts his Gospel to the wants of persons out of Palestine, by explaining the customs of the Jews. Josephus, in his Wars of the Jews, L. II. chap. 9, men