Markus 1:5

1:5 People ¹  from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem ²  were going out to him, and he was baptizing them ³  in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.

Markus 1:7

1:7 He proclaimed, ⁴  “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy ⁵  to bend down and untie the strap ⁶  of his sandals.

Markus 1:35

Praying and Preaching

1:35 Then ⁷  Jesus ⁸  got up early in the morning when it was still very dark, departed, and went out to a deserted place, and there he spent time in prayer. ⁹ 

Markus 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ¹⁰  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ¹¹ 

Markus 4:11

4:11 He said to them, “The secret ¹²  of the kingdom of God has been given ¹³  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

Markus 4:19

4:19 but ¹⁴  worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, ¹⁵  and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, ¹⁶  and it produces nothing.

Markus 6:7-8

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus ¹⁷  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ¹⁸  6:8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff ¹⁹  – no bread, no bag, ²⁰  no money in their belts –

Markus 7:11

7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ²¹  (that is, a gift for God),

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 8:22

A Two-stage Healing

8:22 Then ²²  they came to Bethsaida. They brought a blind man to Jesus ²³  and asked him to touch him.

Markus 9:2

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ²⁴  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ²⁵ 

Markus 10:51

10:51 Then ²⁶  Jesus said to him, ²⁷  “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, ²⁸  let me see again.” ²⁹ 

Markus 11:25

11:25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will ³⁰  also forgive you your sins.”

Markus 12:40

12:40 They ³¹  devour widows’ property, ³²  and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.”

Markus 14:12

The Passover

14:12 Now ³³  on the first day of the feast of ³⁴  Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, ³⁵  Jesus’ ³⁶  disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ³⁷ 

Markus 14:55

14:55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything.

Markus 15:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law ³⁸  and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ³⁹ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Grk “And the whole Judean countryside.” Mark uses the Greek conjunction καί (kai) at numerous places in his Gospel to begin sentences and paragraphs. This practice is due to Semitic influence and reflects in many cases the use of the Hebrew ו (vav) which is used in OT narrative, much as it is here, to carry the narrative along. Because in contemporary English style it is not acceptable to begin every sentence with “and,” καί was often left untranslated or rendered as “now,” “so,” “then,” or “but” depending on the context. When left untranslated it has not been noted. When given an alternative translation, this is usually indicated by a note.

[1:5]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:5]  ³ tn Grk “they were being baptized by him.” The passive construction has been rendered as active in the translation for the sake of English style.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Grk “proclaimed, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[1:7]  sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.

[1:7]  ⁶ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[1:35]  ⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[1:35]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:35]  ⁹ tn The imperfect προσηύχετο (proshuceto) implies some duration to the prayer.

[3:27]  ¹⁰ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[3:27]  ¹¹ sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.

[4:11]  ¹² tn Grk “the mystery.”

[4:11]  sn The key term secret (μυστήριον, musthrion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).

[4:11]  ¹³ tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

[4:19]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:19]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”

[4:19]  ¹⁶ sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.

[6:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ¹⁸ sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[6:8]  ¹⁹ sn Neither Matt 10:9-10 nor Luke 9:3 allow for a staff. It might be that Matthew and Luke mean not taking an extra staff, or that the expression is merely rhetorical for “traveling light,” which has been rendered in two slightly different ways.

[6:8]  ²⁰ tn Or “no traveler’s bag”; or possibly “no beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145; BDAG 811 s.v. πήρα).

[7:11]  ²¹ sn Corban is a Hebrew loanword (transliterated in the Greek text and in most modern English translations) referring to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner (L&N 53.22). According to contemporary Jewish tradition the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 10).

[8:22]  ²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:22]  ²³ tn Grk “to him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ²⁴ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[9:2]  ²⁵ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[10:51]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:51]  ²⁷ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:51]  ²⁸ tn Or “Master”; Grk ῥαββουνί (rabbouni).

[10:51]  ²⁹ tn Grk “that I may see [again].” The phrase can be rendered as an imperative of request, “Please, give me sight.” Since the man is not noted as having been blind from birth (as the man in John 9 was) it is likely the request is to receive back the sight he once had.

[11:25]  ³⁰ tn Although the Greek subjunctive mood, formally required in a subordinate clause introduced by ἵνα ({ina), is traditionally translated by an English subjunctive (e.g., “may,” so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV), changes in the use of the subjunctive in English now result in most readers understanding such a statement as indicating permission (“may” = “has permission to”) or as indicating uncertainty (“may” = “might” or “may or may not”). Thus a number of more recent translations render such instances by an English future tense (“will,” so TEV, CEV, NLT, NASB 1995 update). That approach has been followed here.

[12:40]  ³¹ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 38.

[12:40]  ³² 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).

[14:12]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:12]  ³⁴ tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[14:12]  ³⁵ sn Generally the feast of Unleavened Bread would refer to Nisan 15 (Friday), but the following reference to the sacrifice of the Passover lamb indicates that Nisan 14 (Thursday) was what Mark had in mind (Nisan = March 27 to April 25). The celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted eight days, beginning with the Passover meal. The celebrations were so close together that at times the names of both were used interchangeably.

[14:12]  ³⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ³⁷ sn This required getting a suitable lamb and finding lodging in Jerusalem where the meal could be eaten. The population of the city swelled during the feast, so lodging could be difficult to find. The Passover was celebrated each year in commemoration of the Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt; thus it was a feast celebrating redemption (see Exod 12). The Passover lamb was roasted and eaten after sunset in a family group of at least ten people (m. Pesahim 7.13). People ate the meal while reclining (see the note on table in 14:18). It included, besides the lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs as a reminder of Israel’s bitter affliction at the hands of the Egyptians. Four cups of wine mixed with water were also used for the meal. For a further description of the meal and the significance of the wine cups, see E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity, 523-24.

[15:1]  ³⁸ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[15:1]  ³⁹ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.