Markus 2:8

2:8 Now ¹  immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, ²  he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? ³ 

Markus 3:2

3:2 They watched ⁴  Jesus ⁵  closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, ⁶  so that they could accuse him.

Markus 3:22

3:22 The experts in the law ⁷  who came down from Jerusalem ⁸  said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” ⁹  and, “By the ruler ¹⁰  of demons he casts out demons.”

Markus 4:21

The Parable of the Lamp

4:21 He also said to them, “A lamp ¹¹  isn’t brought to be put under a basket ¹²  or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand?

Markus 4:25

4:25 For whoever has will be given more, but ¹³  whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” ¹⁴ 

Markus 5:18

5:18 As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go ¹⁵  with him.

Markus 5:35

5:35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler’s ¹⁶  house saying, “Your daughter has died. Why trouble the teacher any longer?”

Markus 8:33

8:33 But after turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but on man’s.” ¹⁷ 

Markus 9:50

9:50 Salt ¹⁸  is good, but if it loses its saltiness, ¹⁹  how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Markus 10:27

10:27 Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, ²⁰  but not for God; all things are possible for God.”

Markus 10:45

10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom ²¹  for many.”

Markus 12:6

12:6 He had one left, his one dear son. ²²  Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

Markus 12:12

12:12 Now ²³  they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So ²⁴  they left him and went away. ²⁵ 

Markus 12:35-36

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

12:35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he said, “How is it that the experts in the law ²⁶  say that the Christ ²⁷  is David’s son? ²⁸  12:36 David himself, by the Holy Spirit, said,

‘The Lord said to my lord, ²⁹ 

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ ³⁰ 

Markus 13:12

13:12 Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against ³¹  parents and have them put to death.

Markus 13:14

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ³²  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ³³  to the mountains.

Markus 13:19

13:19 For in those days there will be suffering ³⁴  unlike anything that has happened ³⁵  from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, or ever will happen.

Markus 15:34

15:34 Around three o’clock ³⁶  Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” ³⁷ 

[2:8]  ¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the shift from the thoughts of the experts in the law to Jesus’ response.

[2:8]  ² tn Grk “they were thus reasoning within themselves.”

[2:8]  ³ tn Grk “Why are you reasoning these things in your hearts?”

[3:2]  ⁴ sn The term translated watched…closely is emotive, since it carries negative connotations. It means they were watching him out of the corner of their eye or spying on him.

[3:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:2]  ⁶ sn The background for this is the view that only if life was endangered should one attempt to heal on the Sabbath (see the Mishnah, m. Shabbat 6.3; 12.1; 18.3; 19.2; m. Yoma 8.6).

[3:22]  ⁷ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[3:22]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “He has Beelzebul.”

[3:22]  sn Beelzebul is another name for Satan. So some people recognized Jesus’ work as supernatural, but called it diabolical.

[3:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “prince.”

[4:21]  ¹¹ sn The lamp is probably an ancient oil burning lamp or perhaps a candlestick. Jesus is comparing revelation to light, particularly the revelation of his ministry.

[4:21]  ¹² tn Or “a bowl”; this refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “basket, box, bowl” (L&N 6.151).

[4:25]  ¹³ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[4:25]  ¹⁴ sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.

[5:18]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “be,” that is, “remain.” In this context that would involve accompanying Jesus as he went on his way.

[5:35]  ¹⁶ sn See the note on synagogue rulers in 5:22.

[8:33]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “people’s.”

[9:50]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ 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.

[10:27]  ²⁰ tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…all things are possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.

[10:45]  ²¹ sn The Greek word for ransom (λύτρον, lutron) is found here and in Matt 20:28 and refers to the payment of a price in order to purchase the freedom of a slave. The idea of Jesus as the “ransom” is that he paid the price with his own life by standing in humanity’s place as a substitute, enduring the judgment that was deserved for sin.

[12:6]  ²² tn Grk “one beloved son.” See comment at Mark 1:11.

[12:6]  sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

[12:12]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to introduce a somewhat parenthetical remark by the author.

[12:12]  ²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[12:12]  ²⁵ sn The point of the parable in Mark 12:1-12 is that the leaders of the nation have been rejected by God and the vineyard (v. 9, referring to the nation and its privileged status) will be taken from them and given to others (an allusion to the Gentiles).

[12:35]  ²⁶ tn Or “that the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[12:35]  ²⁷ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[12:35]  sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

[12:35]  ²⁸ sn It was a common belief in Judaism that Messiah would be David’s son in that he would come from the lineage of David. On this point the Pharisees agreed and were correct. But their understanding was nonetheless incomplete, for Messiah is also David’s Lord. With this statement Jesus was affirming that, as the Messiah, he is both God and man.

[12:36]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[13:12]  ³¹ tn Or “will rebel against.”

[13:14]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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.

[13:19]  ³⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[13:19]  ³⁵ 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.

[15:34]  ³⁶ 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]  ³⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 22:1.