Markus 3:14

3:14 He ¹  appointed twelve (whom he named apostles ² ), ³  so that they would be with him and he could send them to preach

Markus 4:2

4:2 He taught them many things in parables, ⁴  and in his teaching said to them:

Markus 6:19

6:19 So Herodias nursed a grudge against him and wanted to kill him. But ⁵  she could not

Markus 7:13

7:13 Thus you nullify ⁶  the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

Markus 13:6

13:6 Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ ⁷  and they will mislead many.

Markus 14:4

14:4 But some who were present indignantly said to one another, “Why this waste of expensive ⁸  ointment?

Markus 15:42

Jesus’ Burial

15:42 Now ⁹  when evening had already come, since it was the day of preparation (that is, the day before the Sabbath), ¹⁰ 

[3:14]  ¹ tn Grk “And he.”

[3:14]  ² sn The term apostles is rare in the gospels, found only here and Mark 6:30, Matt 10:2, and six more times in Luke (6:13; 9:10; 11:49; 17:5; 22:14; 24:10).

[3:14]  ³ tc The phrase “whom he named apostles” is lacking in the majority of mss (A C² [D] L ˹ 33 Ï latt sy). Several primary Alexandrian and Caesarean witnesses (א B [C* W] Θ Ë¹³ 28 pc co) include the phrase, so the external evidence is strongly in favor of this reading, especially since Alexandrian witnesses tend to witness to the shorter reading. It is possible that the Alexandrian witnesses have inserted these words to bring the text in line with Luke 6:13 (TCGNT 69), but against this is the internal evidence of Mark’s style: Mark tends toward gratuitous redundancy. Thus the inclusion of this phrase is supported by both internal and external evidence and should be regarded as more likely original than the omission.

[4:2]  ⁴ sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. 2:19-22; 3:23-25; 4:3-9, 26-32; 7:15-17; 13:28), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.

[6:19]  ⁵ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[7:13]  ⁶ tn Grk “nullifying.” This participle shows the results of the Pharisees’ command.

[13:6]  ⁷ tn That is, “I am the Messiah.”

[14:4]  ⁸ tn The word “expensive” is not in the Greek text but has been included to suggest a connection to the lengthy phrase “costly aromatic oil from pure nard” occurring earlier in v. 3. The author of Mark shortened this long phrase to just one word in Greek when repeated here, and the phrase “expensive ointment” used in the translation is intended as an abbreviated paraphrase.

[15:42]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic and introduction of a new character.

[15:42]  ¹⁰ sn The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath when everything had to be prepared for it, as no work could be done on the Sabbath.