Markus 1:7

1:7 He proclaimed, ¹  “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy ²  to bend down and untie the strap ³  of his sandals.

Markus 2:12

2:12 And immediately the man ⁴  stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Markus 2:26

2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest ⁵  and ate the sacred bread, ⁶  which is against the law ⁷  for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” ⁸ 

Markus 4:31

4:31 It is like a mustard seed ⁹  that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground –

Markus 5:33

5:33 Then the woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.

Markus 6:26

6:26 Although it grieved the king deeply, ¹⁰  he did not want to reject her request because of his oath and his guests.

Markus 8:25

8:25 Then Jesus ¹¹  placed his hands on the man’s ¹²  eyes again. And he opened his eyes, ¹³  his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Markus 9:26

9:26 It shrieked, threw him into terrible convulsions, and came out. The boy ¹⁴  looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He is dead!”

Markus 10:15

10:15 I tell you the truth, ¹⁵  whoever does not receive ¹⁶  the kingdom of God like a child ¹⁷  will never ¹⁸  enter it.”

Markus 10:24

10:24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them, ¹⁹  “Children, how hard it is ²⁰  to enter the kingdom of God!

Markus 11:9

11:9 Both those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, “Hosanna! ²¹  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! ²² 

Markus 11:18

11:18 The chief priests and the experts in the law ²³  heard it and they considered how they could assassinate ²⁴  him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed by his teaching.

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 12:37

12:37 If David himself calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ²⁵  And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.

Markus 13:14

The Abomination of Desolation

13:14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation ²⁶  standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee ²⁷  to the mountains.

Markus 15:32

15:32 Let the Christ, ²⁸  the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him. ²⁹ 

Markus 15:41

15:41 When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. ³⁰  Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem ³¹  were there too.

[1:7]  ¹ tn Grk “proclaimed, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[1:7]  ² tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

[1:7]  sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet.

[1:7]  ³ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

[2:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man who was healed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:26]  ⁵ tn A decision about the proper translation of this Greek phrase (ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, ejpi Abiaqar ajrcierew") is very difficult for a number of reasons. The most natural translation of the phrase is “when Abiathar was high priest,” but this is problematic because Abiathar was not the high priest when David entered the temple and ate the sacred bread; Ahimelech is the priest mentioned in 1 Sam 21:1-7. Three main solutions have been suggested to resolve this difficulty. (1) There are alternate readings in various manuscripts, but these are not likely to be original: D W {271} it sy^s and a few others omit ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως, no doubt in conformity to the parallels in Matt 12:4 and Luke 6:4; {A C Θ Π Σ Φ 074 ˹³ and many others} add τοῦ before ἀρχιερέως, giving the meaning “in the days of Abiathar the high priest,” suggesting a more general time frame. Neither reading has significant external support and both most likely are motivated by the difficulty of the original reading. (2) Many scholars have hypothesized that one of the three individuals who would have been involved in the transmission of the statement (Jesus who uttered it originally, Mark who wrote it down in the Gospel, or Peter who served as Mark’s source) was either wrong about Abiathar or intentionally loose with the biblical data in order to make a point. (3) It is possible that what is currently understood to be the most natural reading of the text is in fact not correct. (a) There are very few biblical parallels to this grammatical construction (ἐπί + genitive proper noun, followed by an anarthrous common noun), so it is possible that an extensive search for this construction in nonbiblical literature would prove that the meaning does involve a wide time frame. If this is so, “in the days of Abiathar the high priest” would be a viable option. (b) It is also possible that this phrasing serves as a loose way to cite a scripture passage. There is a parallel to this construction in Mark 12:26: “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush?” Here the final phrase is simply ἐπὶ τοῦ βάτου (ejpi tou batou), but the obvious function of the phrase is to point to a specific passage within the larger section of scripture. Deciding upon a translation here is difficult. The translation above has followed the current consensus on the most natural and probable meaning of the phrase ἐπὶ ᾿Αβιαθὰρ ἀρχιερέως: “when Abiathar was high priest.” It should be recognized, however, that this translation is tentative because the current state of knowledge about the meaning of this grammatical construction is incomplete, and any decision about the meaning of this text is open to future revision.

[2:26]  ⁶ tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

[2:26]  sn The sacred bread refers to the “bread of presentation,” “showbread,” or “bread of the Presence,” twelve loaves prepared weekly for the tabernacle and later, the temple. See Exod 25:30; 35:13; 39:36; Lev 24:5-9. Each loaf was made from 3 quarts (3.5 liters; Heb “two tenths of an ephah”) of fine flour. The loaves were placed on a table in the holy place of the tabernacle, on the north side opposite the lampstand (Exod 26:35). It was the duty of the priest each Sabbath to place fresh bread on the table; the loaves from the previous week were then given to Aaron and his descendants, who ate them in the holy place, because they were considered sacred (Lev 24:9). See also Matt 12:1-8, Luke 6:1-5.

[2:26]  ⁷ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

[2:26]  ⁸ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

[4:31]  ⁹ sn Mustard seeds are known for their tiny size.

[6:26]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and being deeply grieved, the king did not want.”

[8:25]  ¹¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ¹² tn Grk “his”; the referent (the blind man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:25]  ¹³ tn Or “he looked intently”; or “he stared with eyes wide open” (BDAG 226 s.v. διαβλέπω 1).

[9:26]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[10:15]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[10:15]  ¹⁶ sn On receive see John 1:12.

[10:15]  ¹⁷ sn The point of the comparison receive the kingdom of God like a child has more to do with a child’s trusting spirit and willingness to be dependent and receive from others than any inherent humility the child might possess.

[10:15]  ¹⁸ tn The negation in Greek (οὐ μή, ou mh) is very strong here.

[10:24]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “But answering, Jesus again said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

[10:24]  ²⁰ tc Most mss (A C D Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 2427 Ï lat sy) have here “for those who trust in riches” (τοὺς πεποιθότας ἐπὶ [τοῖς] χρήμασιν, tou" pepoiqota" epi [toi"] crhmasin); W has πλούσιον (plousion) later in the verse, producing the same general modification on the dominical saying (“how hard it is for the rich to enter…”). But such qualifications on the Lord’s otherwise harsh and absolute statements are natural scribal expansions, intended to soften the dictum. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, along with a few others (א B Δ Ψ sa), lack any such qualifications. That W lacks the longer expansion and only has πλούσιον suggests that its archetype agreed with א B here; its voice should be heard with theirs. Thus, both on external and internal grounds, the shorter reading is preferred.

[11:9]  ²¹ tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” The introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.

[11:9]  sn Hosanna is an Aramaic expression that literally means, “help, I pray,” or “save, I pray.” By Jesus’ time it had become a strictly liturgical formula of praise, however, and was used as an exclamation of praise to God.

[11:9]  ²² sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.

[11:18]  ²³ tn Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[11:18]  ²⁴ tn Grk “how they could destroy him.”

[12:37]  ²⁵ tn Grk “David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ So how is he his son?” The conditional nuance, implicit in Greek, has been made explicit in the translation (cf. Matt 22:45).

[13:14]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ 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.

[15:32]  ²⁸ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[15:32]  sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

[15:32]  ²⁹ sn Mark’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).

[15:41]  ³⁰ tn Grk “and ministered to him.”

[15:41]  sn Cf. Luke 8:3.

[15:41]  ³¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.