Markus 1:2

1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, ¹ 

“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way, ² 

Markus 1:40

Cleansing a Leper

1:40 Now ³  a leper ⁴  came to him and fell to his knees, asking for help. “If ⁵  you are willing, you can make me clean,” he said.

Markus 10:51

10:51 Then ⁶  Jesus said to him, ⁷  “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied, “Rabbi, ⁸  let me see again.” ⁹ 

Markus 13:2

13:2 Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. ¹⁰  All will be torn down!” ¹¹ 

[1:2]  ¹ tc Instead of “in Isaiah the prophet” the majority of mss read “in the prophets” (A W ˹³ Ï Ir^lat). Except for Irenaeus (2nd century), the earliest evidence for this is thus from the 5th (or possibly late 4th) century (W A). The difficulty of Irenaeus is that he wrote in Greek but has been preserved largely in Latin. His Greek remains have “in Isaiah the prophet.” Only the later Latin translation has “in the prophets.” The KJV reading is thus in harmony with the majority of late mss. On the other hand, the witnesses for “in Isaiah the prophet” (either with the article before Isaiah or not) are early and geographically widespread: א B D L Δ Θ Ë¹ 33 565 700 892 1241 2427 al sy^p co Ir. This evidence runs deep into the 2nd century, is widespread, and is found in the most important Alexandrian, Western, and Caesarean witnesses. The “Isaiah” reading has a better external pedigree in every way. It has the support of the earliest and best witnesses from all the texttypes that matter. Moreover it is the harder reading, since the quotation in the first part of the verse appears to be from Exod 23:20 and Mal 3:1, with the quotation from Isa 40:3 coming in the next verse. The reading of the later mss seems motivated by a desire to resolve this difficulty.

[1:2]  ² sn The opening lines of the quotation are from Exod 23:20; Mal 3:1. Here is the forerunner who points the way to the arrival of God’s salvation. His job is to prepare and guide the people, as the cloud did for Israel in the desert.

[1:40]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[1:40]  ⁴ sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what we call leprosy today. A leper was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46).

[1:40]  ⁵ tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.

[10:51]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:51]  ⁷ tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:51]  ⁸ tn Or “Master”; Grk ῥαββουνί (rabbouni).

[10:51]  ⁹ 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.

[13:2]  ¹⁰ sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.

[13:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”