Markus 2:17

2:17 When Jesus heard this he said to them, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. ¹  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Markus 2:19

2:19 Jesus ²  said to them, “The wedding guests ³  cannot fast while the bridegroom ⁴  is with them, can they? ⁵  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they do not fast.

Markus 2:21

2:21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

Markus 3:27

3:27 But no one is able to enter a strong man’s ⁶  house and steal his property unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can thoroughly plunder his house. ⁷ 

Markus 5:30

5:30 Jesus knew at once that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?”

Markus 6:11

6:11 If a place will not welcome you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off ⁸  your feet as a testimony against them.”

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 ⁹  had married her.

Markus 8:35

8:35 For whoever wants to save his life ¹⁰  will lose it, ¹¹  but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.

Markus 9:1

9:1 And he said to them, “I tell you the truth, ¹²  there are some standing here who will not ¹³  experience ¹⁴  death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” ¹⁵ 

Markus 9:9

9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

Markus 9:37

9:37 “Whoever welcomes ¹⁶  one of these little children ¹⁷  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

Markus 9:39

9:39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me.

Markus 9:43

9:43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off! It is better for you to enter into life crippled than to have ¹⁸  two hands and go into hell, ¹⁹  to the unquenchable fire.

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 ²⁰  two feet and be thrown into hell.

Markus 9:47

9:47 If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out! ²¹  It is better to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have ²²  two eyes and be thrown into hell,

Markus 10:14

10:14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ²³ 

Markus 10:19

10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” ²⁴ 

Markus 10:29

10:29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, ²⁵  there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel

Markus 10:39

10:39 They said to him, “We are able.” ²⁶  Then Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink, and you will be baptized with the baptism I experience,

Markus 12:43

12:43 He called his disciples and said to them, “I tell you the truth, ²⁷  this poor widow has put more into the offering box ²⁸  than all the others. ²⁹ 

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, ³⁰  for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

Markus 13:19

13:19 For in those days there will be suffering ³¹  unlike anything that has happened ³²  from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, or ever will happen.

Markus 13:28

The Parable of the Fig Tree

13:28 “Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Markus 14:3

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ³³  while Jesus ³⁴  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ³⁵  a woman came with an alabaster jar ³⁶  of costly aromatic oil ³⁷  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.

Markus 14:12

The Passover

14:12 Now ³⁸  on the first day of the feast of ³⁹  Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, ⁴⁰  Jesus’ ⁴¹  disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” ⁴² 

Markus 14:14

14:14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’

Markus 15:34

15:34 Around three o’clock ⁴³  Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ⁴⁴ 

[2:17]  ¹ sn Jesus’ point is that he associates with those who are sick because they have the need and will respond to the offer of help. A person who is healthy (or who thinks mistakenly that he is) will not seek treatment.

[2:19]  ² tn Grk “And Jesus.”

[2:19]  ³ 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]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ 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?”).

[3:27]  ⁶ sn The strong man here pictures Satan.

[3:27]  ⁷ 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.

[6:11]  ⁸ sn To shake the dust off represented shaking off the uncleanness from one’s feet; see Luke 10:11; Acts 13:51; 18:6. It was a sign of rejection.

[6:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.

[8:35]  ¹⁰ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 35-37).

[8:35]  ¹¹ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

[9:1]  ¹² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[9:1]  ¹³ tn The Greek negative here (οὐ μή, ou mh) is the strongest possible.

[9:1]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:37]  ¹⁷ sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

[9:43]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:43]  ¹⁹ sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36). This Greek term also occurs in vv. 45, 47.

[9:45]  ²⁰ tn Grk “than having.”

[9:47]  ²¹ tn Grk “throw it out.”

[9:47]  ²² tn Grk “than having.”

[10:14]  ²³ sn The kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Children are a picture of those whose simple trust illustrates what faith is all about. The remark illustrates how everyone is important to God, even those whom others regard as insignificant.

[10:19]  ²⁴ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12-16; Deut 5:16-20, except for do not defraud, which is an allusion to Deut 24:14.

[10:29]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:39]  ²⁶ sn No more naïve words have ever been spoken as those found here coming from James and John, “We are able.” They said it with such confidence and ease, yet they had little clue as to what they were affirming. In the next sentence Jesus confirms that they will indeed suffer for his name.

[12:43]  ²⁷ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[12:43]  ²⁸ tn See the note on the term “offering box” in v. 41.

[12:43]  ²⁹ sn Has put more into the offering box than all the others. With God, giving is weighed evaluatively, not counted. The widow was praised because she gave sincerely and at some considerable cost to herself.

[13:11]  ³⁰ tn Grk “in that hour.”

[13:19]  ³¹ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[13:19]  ³² sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.

[14:3]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ³⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ³⁵ sn 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.

[14:3]  ³⁶ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[14:3]  ³⁷ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.

[14:3]  sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.

[14:12]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:12]  ³⁹ tn The words “the feast of” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

[14:12]  ⁴⁰ 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]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:12]  ⁴² 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.

[15:34]  ⁴³ tn The repetition of the phrase “three o’clock” preserves the author’s rougher, less elegant style (cf. Matt 27:45-46; Luke 23:44). Although such stylistic matters are frequently handled differently in the translation, because the issue of synoptic literary dependence is involved here, it was considered important to reflect some of the stylistic differences among the synoptics in the translation, so that the English reader can be aware of them.

[15:34]  ⁴⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.