Markus 4:12

4:12 so that although they look they may look but not see,

and although they hear they may hear but not understand,

so they may not repent and be forgiven.” ¹ 

Markus 5:4

5:4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, ²  but ³  he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Markus 9:31

9:31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men. ⁴  They ⁵  will kill him, ⁶  and after three days he will rise.” ⁷ 

Markus 9:45

9:45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better to enter life lame than to have ⁸  two feet and be thrown into hell.

Markus 12:44

12:44 For they all gave out of their wealth. ⁹  But she, out of her poverty, put in what she had to live on, everything she had.” ¹⁰ 

Markus 15:43

15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council, ¹¹  who was himself looking forward to ¹²  the kingdom of God, ¹³  went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ¹⁴ 

[4:12]  ¹ sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.

[5:4]  ² tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.

[5:4]  ³ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[9:31]  ⁴ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; CEV, “to people”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:31]  ⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁶ tn Grk “They will kill him, and being killed, after…” The redundancy in the statement has been removed in the translation.

[9:31]  ⁷ sn They will kill him and after three days he will rise. See the note at the end of Mark 8:30 regarding the passion predictions.

[9:45]  ⁸ tn Grk “than having.”

[12:44]  ⁹ tn Grk “out of what abounded to them.”

[12:44]  ¹⁰ sn The contrast between this passage, 12:41-44, and what has come before in 11:27-12:40 is remarkable. The woman is set in stark contrast to the religious leaders. She was a poor widow, they were rich. She was uneducated in the law, they were well educated in the law. She was a woman, they were men. But whereas they evidenced no faith and actually stole money from God and men (cf. 11:17), she evidenced great faith and gave out of her extreme poverty everything she had.

[15:43]  ¹¹ tn Grk “a councillor” (as a member of the Sanhedrin, see L&N 11.85). This indicates that some individuals among the leaders did respond to Jesus.

[15:43]  ¹² tn Or “waiting for.”

[15:43]  ¹³ sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[15:43]  ¹⁴ sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.