World English Bible · Under Rome
Mark 2
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When he entered again into after some days, it was heard that he was at home. Immediately many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even around the door; and he spoke the word to them. Four people came, carrying a paralytic to him. When they could not come near to him for the , they removed the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down the mat that the paralytic was lying on. , seeing their , said to the paralytic, "Son, your are forgiven you." But there were some of the sitting there and reasoning in their , "Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive but alone?" Immediately , perceiving in his that they so reasoned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you reason these things in your ? Which is easier, to tell the paralytic, 'Your are forgiven;' or to say, 'Arise, and take up your bed, and walk'? But that you may know that has on earth to forgive "—he said to the paralytic— "I tell you, arise, take up your mat, and go to your house." He arose, and immediately took up the mat and went out in front of them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified , saying, "We never saw anything like this!" He went out again by the seaside. All came to him, and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw the son of sitting at the tax office. He said to him, "Follow me." And he arose and followed him. He was in his house, and many and sat down with and his , for there were many, and they followed him. The and the , when they saw that he was eating with the and , said to his , "Why is it that he eats and drinks with and ?" When heard it, he said to them, "Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call , but to ." and the were , and they came and asked him, "Why do and of the , but your don't ?" said to them, "Can the groomsmen while the is with them? As long as they have the with them, they can't . But the days will come when the will be taken away from them, and then they will in that day. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, or else the patch shrinks and the new tears away from the old, and a worse hole is made. No one puts into old wineskins; or else the will burst the skins, and the pours out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put into fresh wineskins." He was going on the through the grain fields; and his began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain. The said to him, "Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the ?" He said to them, "Did you never read what did when he had need and was hungry—he, and those who were with him? How he entered into house at the time of the , and ate the show bread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?" He said to them, "The was made for man, not man for the . Therefore is even of the ."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.