THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK.
Chapter 1.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ; 
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Lo! I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way;” 
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths!” 
John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 
And there went out to him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a leathern girdle about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 
And he preached, saying, There cometh after me one mightier than I, the latchet of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. 
I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 
And it came to pass that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 
And immediately on coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens parted, and the Spirit descending as a dove upon him. 
And there was a voice from the heavens, “Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.” 
And immediately the Spirit driveth him forth into the wilderness. 
And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him. 
But after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the glad tidings of God, 
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the glad tidings. 
And as he was passing along by the lake of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon dragging a net in the lake; for they were fishers. 
And Jesus said to them, Come after me, and I will cause you to become fishers of men. 
And immediately they left their nets, and followed him. 
And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending the nets; 
and immediately he called them. And leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they went after him. 
And they enter Capernaum; and immediately on the sabbath he was teaching in the synagogue. 
And they were astonished at his teaching; for he taught them as having authority, and not as the scribes. 
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, 
saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Thou hast come to destroy us; we know who thou art, the Holy One of God. 
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him. 
And the unclean spirit convulsing him, and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him. 
And they were all amazed, so that they questioned each other, saying, What is this? New teaching with authority; even the unclean spirits doth he command, and they obey him! 
And immediately his fame spread abroad everywhere through the whole surrounding country of Galilee. 
And having come out of the synagogue, they immediately entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 
And Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever; and they immediately speak to him about her. 
And he went to her, and took her by the hand, and raised her up; and the fever left her, and she waited on them. 
And in the evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all that were sick, and those who were possessed by demons; 
and the whole city was assembled at the door. 
And he healed many that were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he suffered not the demons to speak, because they knew him. 
And rising early, long before day, he went out, and withdrew into a desert place, and there prayed. 
And Simon and those with him went in search of him, 
and found him. And they say to him, All people are in search of thee. 
And he saith to them, Let us go elsewhere into the neighboring towns, that I may preach there also; for, for this I came forth. 
And he went, preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out the demons. 
And there cometh a leper to him beseeching him, and kneeling down, saying to him, If thou wilt, thou canst cleanse me. 
And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith, I will; be thou cleansed. 
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed. 
And sternly charging him, he immediately sent him away, 
saying to him, See that thou say nothing to any one; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing what Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. 
But he went away, and began to publish it constantly, and to spread the matter abroad, so that Jesus could no more enter a city openly, but was without in desert places; and they came to him from every quarter. 
