Learn Biblical Greek with Bill Mounce

Option A

BIBLE STUDY GREEK

Use a computer & interlinear

Reduce memorization

STUDY the Greek New Testament

Learn Bible Study Greek

OR

Option B

BIBLICAL GREEK

Commit to repeated memorization

Review often

READ the Greek New Testament

Learn Biblical Greek

Monday /w Mounce blog

Was Jesus in a lonely, deserted, or uninhabited region? (Mark 1:45)

Monday, April 27, 2026

The sermon yesterday was on the need for solitude, planned margin. Always a good reminder for those of us who tend to define ourselves by what we do — do I hear the amens?

The passage was Mark 1:45. “Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but stayed out in unpopulated areas (ἐρήμοις τόποις; NASB).”

What caught my eye was the NASB’s use of “unpopulated.” For a translation that tends away from excessive interpretation (although all translations are interpretive), their use of “unpopulated” was a good choice.

Subscribe to my blog

We can no longer assume that people trust their Bible and believe what it says about itself. People say that Genesis 1–11 reads more like a myth than history. The God of the Old Testament is a moral monster who commands genocide. Did the biblical writers get it right, or did they slant, massage, or even create the Bible we have today? How can you believe a Bible that’s full of internal contradictions with itself and external contradictions with science and history? Why should we believe the right books are in the Bible? Many books were left out, like the Gospel of Thomas. If you want to learn more about Bill’s new book, Why I Trust the Bible, including issues he was not able to cover in the book, check out BillMounce.com/trust. Why I Trust the Bible is now available at Amazon, ChristianBook, or your favorite bookstore.