Saturday, August 22, 2026

Textual changes in favor of the newer Greek texts are underlined.

Mark 10

1 And he arose from thence and cometh into the borders of Judaea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come together unto him again; and, as he was accustomed, he taught them again. 2 And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? trying him(a). 3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? 4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. 5 But Jesus said unto them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of the creation, Male and female made he them. 7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; 8 and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh. 9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter. 11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her: 12 and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she committeth adultery.

13 And they were bringing unto him little children, that he should touch them: and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the kingdom of God. 15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein. 16 And he took them in his arms, and blessed them, laying his hands upon them.

17 And as he was going forth into the way, there ran one to him, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good but one, [that is] God(b). 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor thy father and mother. 20 And he said unto him, Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth. 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. 22 But his countenance fell at the saying, and he went away sorrowful: for he was one that had many possessions(c).

23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the needle`s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God(c). 26 And they were astonished exceedingly, saying to each other, Then who can be saved? 27 Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for all things are possible with God. 28 Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or lands, for my sake, and for the gospel`s sake, 30 but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31 But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last first.

32 And they were on the way, going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was going before them: and they were amazed; but they that followed were afraid. And he took again the twelve, and began to tell them the things that were to happen unto him, 33 [saying], Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man(d) shall be delivered unto the chief priests and to the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him unto the Gentiles: 34 and they shall mock him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall kill him; and after three days he shall rise again.

35 And there come near unto him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying, Teacher, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall ask of thee. 36 And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 And they said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and one at the left hand, in thy glory. 38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup that I drink? or to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 And they said unto him, We are able. And Jesus said unto them, The cup that I drink ye shall drink; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: 40 but to sit on my right hand or left hand is not mine to give(e); but [it is for them] for whom it hath been prepared. 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be moved with indignation concerning James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they who are accounted to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it is not so among you: but whosoever would become great among you, shall be your minister; 44 and whosoever would be first among you, shall be servant of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

46 And they come to Jericho: and as he went out from Jericho, with his disciples and a great multitude, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the way side. 47 And when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. 48 And many rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried out the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus stood still, and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee. 50 And he, casting away his garment, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answered him, and said, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? And the blind man said unto him, Rabboni(f), that I may receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And straightway he received his sight, and followed him in the way.

Footnotes

(a) Weymouth: "Presently a party of Pharisees come to Him with the question--seeking to entrap Him, 'May a man divorce his wife?'"
(b) Two things are evident in this reply; first, that he represented himself as a distinct being from God, and, secondly, that he did not possess the same degree of goodness. As Vine's says in his Expository Dictionary of the Bible: "God is essentially, absolutely and consummately "good," Matt. 19:17; Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19."
This sets God apart from others that are also called GOOD (Matt. 25:21, Luke 23:50, Acts 11:24 and 1 Pet. 2:18.
That Mark 10:18 should be seen as a rebuke is cemented two verses later, where the same man THEN refers to him simply as "Teacher" without the qualifying "Good.": "Teacher, all these things have I observed from my youth." Did Jesus correct him here? No. The man understood then only God is essentially, absolutely and consummately "good," and that God was NOT Jesus.
(c) "Then, in the next chapter, a different rich man, Zacchaeus, declared, 'half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor,' and he promised quadruple restitution to anyone he had cheated. Jesus was delighted with the second man (who offered only half of what Jesus had asked of the first man). The difference seems to lie within the men themselves and not in how much they gave to the poor." -Jesus on Wealth Redistribution: What He Said and Didn’t Say, by Randy England https://fee.org/articles/jesus-on-wealth-redistribution-what-he-said-and-didnt-say/
(d) JW: "Son of Man bore, in the Hebrew idiom, a certain sense of humility and tenderness; and it was necessary, according to the counsels of Heaven, and for the accomplishment of the great work of human redemption, that the Messiah should occupy a lowly condition, and sustain a meek, submissive and admirable character"-APSLAND: Sermon on the Title, Son of Man, pp. 15, 16.
(e) Jesus' statement here indicates that the ultimate authority over who receives positions of honor in God's kingdom rests solely with the Father, reinforcing the concept of God's oneness.
(f) "Rabboni" is a more elevated form of the word "Rabbi," which means "teacher" in Aramaic. The added "bon" prefix intensifies the meaning to "my great teacher" or "my master".

Quote: The claim that there are "three persons in the Godhead" is the invention of men whose aim was only to make religion complex, intricate, and mysterious. Jesus never said anything about three persons in the Godhead. If it were true, He was one of the persons and must have known it. He was silent as to the composition of the "Godhead." Every text that might be said to support such a teaching is ambiguous, while there are numerous texts to prove that He believed in one Heavenly Father, one only God!~John S. Hawley

https://newworldtranslation.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-unreasonable-unscriptural.html

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Mark 9 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

Introducing the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

References Used in the Unitarian Standard Version

Textual changes in favor of the newer Greek texts are underlined.

Mark 9

1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There are some here of them that stand [by], who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God come with power(a). 2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them; 3 and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them. 4 And there appeared unto them Elijah with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus. 5 And Peter answereth and saith to Jesus, Rabbi, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 6 For he knew not what to answer; for they became sore afraid. 7 And there came a cloud overshadowing them: and there came a voice out of the cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear ye him. 8 And suddenly looking round about, they saw no one any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

9 And as they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, save when the Son of man should have risen again from the dead. 10 And they kept the saying, questioning among themselves what the rising again from the dead should mean. 11 And they asked him, saying, [How is it] that the scribes say that Elijah must first come? 12 And he said unto them, Elijah indeed cometh first, and restoreth all things: and how is it written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things and be despised? 13 But I say unto you, that Elijah is come, and they have also done unto him whatsoever they would, even as it is written of him.

14 And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them. 15 And straightway all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. 16 And he asked them, What question ye with them? 17 And one of the multitude answered him, Teacher, I brought unto thee my son, who hath a dumb spirit(b); 18 and wheresoever it taketh him, it dasheth him down: and he foameth [at the mouth], and grindeth his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast it out; and they were not able. 19 And he answereth them and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you? bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him to him. Upon seeing him the spirit convulsed him, and falling to the ground he started wallowing, foaming [at the mouth.] 21 And he asked his father, How long time is it since this hath come unto him? And he said, From a child. 22 And oft-times it hath cast him both into [the] fire and into [the] waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 And Jesus said unto him, If thou canst! All things are possible to him that believeth. 24 Straightway the father of the child cried out, and said, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 And when Jesus saw that a multitude came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I command thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. 26 And having cried out, and convulsed much, he came out: and [the boy] became as one dead; insomuch that the many said, He is dead. 27 But Jesus took his hand, and raised him up; and he arose. 28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, [How is it] that we could not cast it out? 29 And he said unto them, This kind(c) can come out by nothing, save by prayer.

30 And they went forth from thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. 31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered up into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he shall rise again. 32 But they understood not the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

33 And they came to Capernaum: and when he was in the house he asked them, What were ye reasoning on the way? 34 But they held their peace: for they had disputed one with another on the way, who [was] the greatest. 35 And he sat down, and called the twelve; and he saith unto them, If any man would be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all. 36 And he took a little child, and set it in the midst of them: and taking it in his arms, he said unto them, 37 Whosoever shall receive one of such little children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.

38 John said unto him, Teacher, we saw one casting out demons in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followed not us. 39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man who shall do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us. 41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink, because ye are Christ`s, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

42 And whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. 43 And if thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life maimed, rather than having thy two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. 45 And if thy foot cause thee to stumble, cut it off: it is good for thee to enter into life halt, rather than having thy two feet to be cast into Gehenna. 47 And if thine eye cause thee to stumble, cast it out: it is good for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna; 48 where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched(d). 49 For every one shall be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost its saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another.

Footnotes

Verses 44 and 46 are omitted as they are considered later additions.
(a) Scholar Bart Ehrman interprets this as Jesus's expectation of a swift and imminent arrival of God's kingdom, a view common among first-century Jewish apocalypticists.
(b) "A dumb spirit - A spirit that takes his speech from him."~John Wesley
(c) The phrase "this kind" implies that there are different types or levels of demonic influence, some of which are more difficult to overcome.
(d) A metaphor for total destruction. If this was indeed a description of a fiery hell, then it could not be too hot if the worms "dieth not."

Quote: The doctrine of the Trinity has indeed been so sublimated and refined, and so reduced in the rigidity of its old technical terms, that it may now be said to offer itself in some quite inoffensive and unobjectionable shapes to that large number of persons who feel bound to accept it in some shape, and yet are aware that in full mental honesty they can accept it only in the least dogmatic and most accommodated shape.~Rev. George E. Ellis

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Mark 8 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

Introducing the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

References Used in the Unitarian Standard Version

Textual changes in favor of the newer Greek texts are underlined.

Mark 8

1 In those days, when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, 2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: 3 and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them are come from far. 4 And his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place? 5 And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. 6 And he commandeth the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude. 7 And they had a few small fishes: and having blessed them, he commanded to set these also before them. 8 And they ate, and were filled: and they took up, of broken pieces that remained over, seven baskets. 9 And they were about four thousand: and he sent them away. 10 And straightway he entered into the boat with his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.

11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, trying him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.(a) 13 And he left them, and again going aboard he departed to the other side.

14 And they forgot to take bread; and they had not in the boat with them more than one loaf. 15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. 16 And they reasoned one with another because they had no bread.

17 And He perceiving it saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? do ye not yet perceive, neither understand? have ye your heart hardened? 18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not?(b) and do ye not remember? 19 When I brake the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. 20 When the seven among the four thousand, how many basketfuls of broken pieces took ye up? And they say unto him, Seven. 21 And he said unto them, Do ye not yet understand?

22 And they come unto Bethsaida. And they bring to him a blind man, and beseech him to touch him. 23 And he took hold of the blind man by the hand, and brought him out of the village; and when he had spit on his eyes, and laid his hands upon him, he asked him, Can you see? 24 And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold [them] as trees, walking. 25 Then again he laid his hands upon his eyes; and he looked stedfastly, and was restored, and saw all things clearly. 26 And he sent him away to his home, saying, Do not even enter into the village.

27 And Jesus went forth, and his disciples, into the villages of Caesarea Philippi: and on the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Who do men say that I am? 28 And they told him, saying, John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but others, One of the prophets. 29 And he asked them, But who say ye that I am? Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. 30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.

31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man(c) must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake the saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But he turning about, and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter, and saith, Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men. 34 And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would follow after me, let him deny himself, and take up his stake, and follow me. 35 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel`s shall save it. 36 For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and to forfeit his soul?(d) 37 For what should a man give in exchange for his soul?(d) 38 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man(c) also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Footnotes

(a) Jesus refuses to perform a miracle for the Pharisees, who ask for one, but performs miracles for the Gentiles, who do not.
(b) Ezekiel 12: 1, 2: "The word of Jehovah also came unto me, saying, Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of the rebellious house, that have eyes to see, and see not, that have ears to hear, and hear not; for they are a rebellious house."
(c) In the Old Testament, the term "Son of Man" (ben-adam) is used for a human person (Ezekiel 2:1) or mankind (Psalms 8:4). This title is used by Jesus of himself most often.
(d) ASV and many other Bibles use the term "life" here. The Greek allows for both translations.

Quote: The doctrine of the Trinity, observes a celebrated writer, confounds reason and prompts it to revolt. If there be any visible difficulties, they are those which are contained in that mystery, that three persons really distinct have one and the same essence, and that this essence being the same thing in each person, all the relations that distinguish them may be communicated without the communication of the relations which distinguish the persons. If human reason consults herself, she will rise up against these inconceivable statements; if she pretends to make use of her own light to penetrate them, it will furnish her with arms to overthrow them. Wherefore in order to believe them she ought to bind herself to stifle all her powers of investigation, and to depress and sink herself under the weight of spiritual authority. ~J. S. Hyndman

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Mark 10 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

Mark 10

Footnotes

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Mark 9 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

Mark 9

Footnotes

Sunday, August 2, 2026

Mark 8 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

Mark 8

Footnotes

Mark 10 in the Unitarian Standard Version Bible

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