Markus 6:26

6:26 Although it grieved the king deeply, ¹  he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests.

Markus 8:1

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

8:1 In those days there was another large crowd with nothing to eat. So ²  Jesus ³  called his disciples and said to them,

Markus 8:7

8:7 They also had a few small fish. After giving thanks for these, he told them to serve these as well.

Markus 8:11-12

The Demand for a Sign

8:11 Then the Pharisees ⁴  came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for ⁵  a sign from heaven ⁶  to test him. 8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, ⁷  no sign will be given to this generation.”

Markus 9:50

9:50 Salt ⁸  is good, but if it loses its saltiness, ⁹  how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Markus 12:40

12:40 They ¹⁰  devour widows’ property, ¹¹  and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.”

Markus 14:35-36

14:35 Going a little farther, he threw himself to the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour would pass from him. 14:36 He said, “Abba, ¹²  Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup ¹³  away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Markus 15:31

15:31 In the same way even the chief priests – together with the experts in the law ¹⁴  – were mocking him among themselves: ¹⁵  “He saved others, but he cannot save himself!

[6:26]  ¹ tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”

[8:1]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:1]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:11]  ⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[8:11]  ⁵ tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

[8:11]  ⁶ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[8:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:50]  ⁸ sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

[9:50]  ⁹ sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its saltiness since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens: Under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca. a.d. 90), when asked the question “When salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again?” is said to have replied, “By salting it with the afterbirth of a mule.” He was then asked, “Then does the mule (being sterile) bear young?” to which he replied: “Can salt lose its flavor?” The point appears to be both are impossible. The saying, while admittedly late, suggests that culturally the loss of flavor by salt was regarded as an impossibility. Genuine salt can never lose its flavor. In this case the saying by Jesus here may be similar to Matt 19:24, where it is likewise impossible for the camel to go through the eye of a sewing needle.

[12:40]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 38.

[12:40]  ¹¹ tn Grk “houses,” “households”; however, the term can have the force of “property” or “possessions” as well (O. Michel, TDNT 5:131; BDAG 695 s.v. οἶκια 1.a).

[14:36]  ¹² tn The word means “Father” in Aramaic.

[14:36]  ¹³ sn This cup alludes to the wrath of God that Jesus would experience (in the form of suffering and death) for us. See Ps 11:6; 75:8-9; Isa 51:17, 19, 22 for this figure.

[15:31]  ¹⁴ tn Or “with the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22. Only “chief priests” is in the nominative case; this sentence structure attempts to capture this emphasis.

[15:31]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Mocking him, the chief priests…said among themselves.”