Markus 1:17

1:17 Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will turn you into fishers of people.” ¹ 

Markus 3:14

3:14 He ²  appointed twelve (whom he named apostles ³ ), ⁴  so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach

Markus 9:11

9:11 Then ⁵  they asked him, ⁶  “Why do the experts in the law ⁷  say that Elijah must come first?”

Markus 9:15

9:15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran ⁸  at once and greeted him.

Markus 14:34

14:34 He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay alert.”

Markus 15:11

15:11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release ⁹  Barabbas instead.

Markus 16:15

16:15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

[1:17]  ¹ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[1:17]  sn The kind of fishing envisioned was net – not line – fishing (cf. v. 16; cf. also BDAG 55 s.v. ἀμφιβάλλω, ἀμφίβληστρον) which involved a circular net that had heavy weights around its perimeter. The occupation of fisherman was labor-intensive. The imagery of using a lure and a line (and waiting for the fish to strike) is thus foreign to this text. Rather, the imagery of a fisherman involved much strain, long hours, and often little results. Jesus’ point may have been one or more of the following: the strenuousness of evangelism, the work ethic that it required, persistence and dedication to the task (often in spite of minimal results), the infinite value of the new “catch” (viz., people), and perhaps an eschatological theme of snatching people from judgment (cf. W. L. Lane, Mark [NICNT], 67). If this last motif is in view, then catching people is the opposite of catching fish: The fish would be caught, killed, cooked, and eaten; people would be caught so as to remove them from eternal destruction and to give them new life.

[3:14]  ² tn Grk “And he.”

[3:14]  ³ sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here and Mark 6:30, Matt 10:2, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).

[3:14]  ⁴ tc The phrase “whom he named apostles” is lacking in the majority of mss (A C² [D] L ˹ 33 Ï latt sy). Several primary Alexandrian and Caesarean witnesses (א B [C* W] Θ Ë¹³ 28 pc co) include the phrase, so the external evidence is strongly in favor of this reading, especially since Alexandrian witnesses tend to witness to the shorter reading. It is possible that the Alexandrian witnesses have inserted these words to bring the text in line with Luke 6:13 (TCGNT 69), but against this is the internal evidence of Mark’s style: Mark tends toward gratuitous redundancy. Thus the inclusion of this phrase is supported by both internal and external evidence and should be regarded as more likely original than the omission.

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “And they were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Or “Why do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Grk The participle προστρέχοντες (prostrecontes) has been translated as a finite verb to make the sequence of events clear in English.

[15:11]  ⁹ tn Grk “to have him release for them.”