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 1:4

1:4 In the wilderness ³  John the baptizer ⁴  began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ 

Markus 2:8

2:8 Now ⁶  immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, ⁷  he said to them, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? ⁸ 

Markus 4:21

The Parable of the Lamp

4:21 He also said to them, “A lamp ⁹  isn’t brought to be put under a basket ¹⁰  or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand?

Markus 6:38

6:38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” When they found out, they said, “Five – and two fish.”

Markus 8:12

8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, ¹¹  no sign will be given to this generation.”

Markus 12:34

12:34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him.

Markus 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ¹²  forced ¹³  a passerby to carry his cross, ¹⁴  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ¹⁵  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

Markus 15:41

15:41 When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. ¹⁶  Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem ¹⁷  were there too.

[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.

[1:4]  ³ tn Or “desert.”

[1:4]  ⁴ 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]).

[1:4]  ⁵ sn A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins was a call for preparation for the arrival of the Lord’s salvation. To participate in this baptism was a recognition of the need for God’s forgiveness with a sense that one needed to live differently as a response to it.

[2:8]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Grk “they were thus reasoning within themselves.”

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

[4:21]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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).

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[15:21]  ¹² tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ¹³ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ¹⁴ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).

[15:41]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “and ministered to him.”

[15:41]  sn Cf. Luke 8:3.

[15:41]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.