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And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.
Mark 6:46 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB After he had taken leave of them, he went up the mountain to pray.
  • KJV And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.
  • BSB After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.
  • NASB And after saying goodbye to them, He left for the mountain to pray.
  • NLT After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus went up the mountain alone to pray. It models His dependence on the Father and the priority of prayer.

Overview

After dismissing the crowd, Jesus sought solitude with His Father. Even amid demanding ministry and popular acclaim, He prioritized communion with God. His prayer life models for believers the necessity of withdrawing to seek the Father and reveals His perfect, dependent humanity.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Mark 1:35Early in the morning, while it was still dark, he rose up and went out, and departed into a deserted place, and prayed there.
  • Matt 6:6But you, when you pray, enter into your inner room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
  • Luke 6:12In these days, he went out to the mountain to pray, and he continued all night in prayer to God.
  • Matt 14:23After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone.
  • 1 Pet 2:21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example, that you should follow his steps,

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 6:46YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 6:46 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.