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 2:15

2:15 As Jesus ⁴  was having a meal ⁵  in Levi’s ⁶  home, many tax collectors ⁷  and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.

Markus 2:19

2:19 Jesus ⁸  said to them, “The wedding guests ⁹  cannot fast while the bridegroom ¹⁰  is with them, can they? ¹¹  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast.

Markus 4:1

The Parable of the Sower

4:1 Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while ¹²  the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake.

Markus 4:38

4:38 But ¹³  he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?”

Markus 5:13

5:13 Jesus ¹⁴  gave them permission. ¹⁵  So ¹⁶  the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.

Markus 6:3

6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son ¹⁷  of Mary ¹⁸  and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him.

Markus 6:14

The Death of John the Baptist

6:14 Now ¹⁹  King Herod ²⁰  heard this, for Jesus’ ²¹  name had become known. Some ²²  were saying, “John the baptizer ²³  has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Markus 6:17

6:17 For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod ²⁴  had married her.

Markus 6:28

6:28 He brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

Markus 6:48

6:48 He ²⁵  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ²⁶  he came to them walking on the sea, ²⁷  for ²⁸  he wanted to pass by them. ²⁹ 

Markus 8:27

Peter’s Confession

8:27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. ³⁰  On the way he asked his disciples, ³¹  “Who do people say that I am?”

Markus 9:1

9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, ³²  there are some standing here who will not ³³  experience ³⁴  death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” ³⁵ 

Markus 9:37

9:37 “Whoever welcomes ³⁶  one of these little children ³⁷  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Markus 11:13

11:13 After noticing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, he went to see if he could find any fruit ³⁸  on it. When he came to it he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.

Markus 11:15

Cleansing the Temple

11:15 Then ³⁹  they came to Jerusalem. ⁴⁰  Jesus ⁴¹  entered the temple area ⁴²  and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. ⁴³  He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,

Markus 11:25

11:25 Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will ⁴⁴  also forgive you your sins.”

Markus 11:33--12:1

11:33 So ⁴⁵  they answered Jesus, ⁴⁶  “We don’t know.” ⁴⁷  Then Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you ⁴⁸  by what authority ⁴⁹  I am doing these things.”

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ⁵⁰  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ⁵¹  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ⁵²  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁵³  and went on a journey.

Markus 12:26

12:26 Now as for the dead being raised, ⁵⁴  have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, ⁵⁵  how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the ⁵⁶  God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ⁵⁷ 

Markus 12:36

12:36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said,

‘The Lord said to my lord, ⁵⁸ 

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ ⁵⁹ 

Markus 13:11

13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, ⁶⁰  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Markus 13:14

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ⁶¹  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ⁶²  to the mountains.

Markus 14:25

14:25 I tell you the truth, ⁶³  I will no longer drink of the fruit ⁶⁴  of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

Markus 15:46

15:46 After Joseph ⁶⁵  bought a linen cloth ⁶⁶  and took down the body, he wrapped it in the linen and placed it in a tomb cut out of the rock. ⁶⁷  Then ⁶⁸  he rolled a stone across the entrance ⁶⁹  of the tomb.

[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.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Grk “As he reclined at table.”

[2:15]  sn As Jesus was having a meal. 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[2:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “his.”

[2:15]  ⁷ sn The tax collectors would bid to collect taxes for the Roman government and then add a surcharge, which they kept. Since tax collectors worked for Rome, they were viewed as traitors to their own people and were not well liked.

[2:19]  ⁸ tn Grk “And Jesus.”

[2:19]  ⁹ tn Grk “sons of the wedding hall,” an idiom referring to wedding guests, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom present at the wedding celebration (L&N 11.7).

[2:19]  ¹⁰ sn The expression while the bridegroom is with them is an allusion to messianic times (John 3:29; Isa 54:5-6; 62:4-5; 4 Ezra 2:15, 38).

[2:19]  ¹¹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here the tag is “can they?”).

[4:1]  ¹² tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.

[4:38]  ¹³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[5:13]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:13]  ¹⁵ sn Many have discussed why Jesus gave them permission, since the animals were destroyed. However, this is another example of a miracle that is a visual lesson. The demons are destructive: They were destroying the man. They destroyed the pigs. They destroy whatever they touch. The point was to take demonic influence seriously, as well as Jesus’ power over it as a picture of the larger battle for human souls. There would be no doubt how the man’s transformation had taken place.

[5:13]  ¹⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate a conclusion and transition in the narrative.

[6:3]  ¹⁷ tc Evidently because of the possible offensiveness of designating Jesus a carpenter, several mss ([Ì^45vid] ˹³ 33^vid [565 579] 700 [2542] pc it vg^mss) harmonize the words “carpenter, the son” to the parallel passage in Matt 13:55, “the son of the carpenter.” Almost all the rest of the mss read “the carpenter, the son.” Since the explicit designation of Jesus as a carpenter is the more difficult reading, and is much better attested, it is most likely correct.

[6:3]  ¹⁸ sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to him as the son of Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).

[6:14]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[6:14]  ²⁰ sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.

[6:14]  ²¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:14]  ²² tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:14]  ²³ tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).

[6:17]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.

[6:48]  ²⁵ tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

[6:48]  ²⁶ tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[6:48]  ²⁷ tn Or “on the lake.”

[6:48]  ²⁸ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

[6:48]  ²⁹ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.

[8:27]  ³⁰ map Fpr location see Map1 C1; Map2 F4.

[8:27]  ³¹ tn Grk “he asked his disciples, saying to them.” The phrase λέγων αὐτοῖς (legwn autois) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[9:1]  ³² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:1]  ³³ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[9:1]  ³⁴ tn Grk “will not taste.” Here the Greek verb does not mean “sample a small amount” (as a typical English reader might infer from the word “taste”), but “experience something cognitively or emotionally; come to know something” (cf. BDAG 195 s.v. γεύομαι 2).

[9:1]  ³⁵ sn Several suggestions have been made as to the referent for the phrase the kingdom of God come with power: (1) the transfiguration itself, which immediately follows in the narrative; (2) Jesus’ resurrection and ascension; (3) the coming of the Spirit; (4) Jesus’ second coming and the establishment of the kingdom. The reference to after six days in 9:2 seems to indicate that Mark had the transfiguration in mind insofar as it was a substantial prefiguring of the consummation of the kingdom (although this interpretation is not without its problems). As such, the transfiguration was a tremendous confirmation to the disciples that even though Jesus had just finished speaking of his death (8:31; 9:31; 10:33), he was nonetheless the promised Messiah and things were proceeding according to God’s plan.

[9:37]  ³⁶ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:37]  ³⁷ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

[11:13]  ³⁸ tn Grk “anything.”

[11:15]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[11:15]  ⁴⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[11:15]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “the temple.”

[11:15]  sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.

[11:15]  ⁴³ tn Grk “the temple.”

[11:15]  sn Matthew (21:12-27), Mark (here, 11:15-19), and Luke (19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.

[11:25]  ⁴⁴ 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.

[11:33]  ⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[11:33]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “answering, they said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθέντες (apokriqentes) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified to conform to English style.

[11:33]  ⁴⁷ sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them (“We do not know”). The point of Mark 11:27-33 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.

[11:33]  ⁴⁸ sn Neither will I tell you. Though Jesus gave no answer, the analogy he used to their own question makes his view clear. His authority came from heaven.

[11:33]  ⁴⁹ tn On this phrase, see BDAG 844 s.v. ποῖος 2.a.γ. This is exactly the same phrase as in v. 28.

[12:1]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁵¹ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ⁵² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁵³ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[12:26]  ⁵⁴ tn Grk “Now as for the dead that they are raised.”

[12:26]  ⁵⁵ sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.

[12:26]  ⁵⁶ tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[12:26]  ⁵⁷ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[12:36]  ⁵⁸ sn The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.

[12:36]  ⁵⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[13:11]  ⁶⁰ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:14]  ⁶¹ sn The reference to the abomination of desolation is an allusion to Dan 9:27. Though some have seen the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in the actions of Antiochus IV (or a representative of his) in 167 b.c., the words of Jesus seem to indicate that Antiochus was not the final fulfillment, but that there was (from Jesus’ perspective) still another fulfillment yet to come. Some argue that this was realized in a.d. 70, while others claim that it refers specifically to Antichrist and will not be fully realized until the period of the great tribulation at the end of the age (cf. Mark 13:19, 24; Matt 24:21; Rev 3:10).

[13:14]  ⁶² sn Fleeing to the mountains is a key OT image: Gen 19:17; Judg 6:2; Isa 15:5; Jer 16:16; Zech 14:5.

[14:25]  ⁶³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[14:25]  ⁶⁴ tn Grk “the produce” (“the produce of the vine” is a figurative expression for wine).

[15:46]  ⁶⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Joseph of Arimathea) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:46]  ⁶⁶ tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.

[15:46]  ⁶⁷ tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.25).

[15:46]  ⁶⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:46]  ⁶⁹ tn Or “to the door,” “against the door.”