Markus 14:63

14:63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses?

Markus 14:47

14:47 One of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, ¹  cutting off his ear.

Markus 14:66

Peter’s Denials

14:66 Now ²  while Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the high priest’s slave girls ³  came by.

Markus 14:53-54

Condemned by the Sanhedrin

14:53 Then ⁴  they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and elders and experts in the law ⁵  came together. 14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He ⁶  was sitting with the guards ⁷  and warming himself by the fire.

Markus 14:60-61

14:60 Then ⁸  the high priest stood up before them ⁹  and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?” 14:61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, ¹⁰  “Are you the Christ, ¹¹  the Son of the Blessed One?”

Markus 14:55

14:55 The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find anything.

Markus 2:26

2:26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest ¹²  and ate the sacred bread, ¹³  which is against the law ¹⁴  for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?” ¹⁵ 

Markus 15:1

Jesus Brought Before Pilate

15:1 Early in the morning, after forming a plan, the chief priests with the elders and the experts in the law ¹⁶  and the whole Sanhedrin tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. ¹⁷ 

Markus 15:43

15:43 Joseph of Arimathea, a highly regarded member of the council, ¹⁸  who was himself looking forward to ¹⁹  the kingdom of God, ²⁰  went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ²¹ 

Markus 13:26

13:26 Then everyone ²²  will see the Son of Man arriving in the clouds ²³  with great power and glory.

Markus 2:25

2:25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry –

Markus 14:68

14:68 But he denied it: ²⁴  “I don’t even understand what you’re talking about!” ²⁵  Then ²⁶  he went out to the gateway, and a rooster crowed. ²⁷ 

[14:47]  ¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

[14:66]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:66]  ³ tn The Greek term here is παιδίσκη (paidiskh), referring to a slave girl or slave woman.

[14:53]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:53]  ⁵ tn Or “and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[14:54]  ⁶ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[14:54]  ⁷ sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

[14:60]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:60]  ⁹ tn Grk “in the middle.”

[14:61]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “questioned him and said to him.”

[14:61]  ¹¹ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[14:61]  sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

[2:26]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

[15:1]  ¹⁶ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[15:1]  ¹⁷ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

[15:43]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “a councillor” (as a member of the Sanhedrin, see L&N 11.85). This indicates that some individuals among the leaders did respond to Jesus.

[15:43]  ¹⁹ tn Or “waiting for.”

[15:43]  ²⁰ sn Though some dispute that Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple of Jesus, this remark that he was looking forward to the kingdom of God and his actions regarding Jesus’ burial suggest otherwise.

[15:43]  ²¹ sn Asking for the body of Jesus was indeed a bold move on the part of Joseph of Arimathea, for it clearly and openly identified him with a man who had just been condemned and executed, namely, Jesus. His faith is exemplary, especially for someone who was a member of the council that handed Jesus over for crucifixion (cf. Luke 23:51). He did this because he sought to give Jesus an honorable burial.

[13:26]  ²² tn Grk “they.”

[13:26]  ²³ sn An allusion to Dan 7:13. Here is Jesus returning with full judging authority.

[14:68]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he denied it, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[14:68]  ²⁵ tn Grk “I do not know or understand what you are saying.” In the translation this is taken as a hendiadys (a figure of speech where two terms express a single meaning, usually for emphatic reasons).

[14:68]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[14:68]  ²⁷ tc Several important witnesses (א B L W Ψ* 579 892 2427 pc) lack the words “and a rooster crowed.” The fact that such good and early Alexandrian witnesses lack these words makes this textual problem difficult to decide, especially because the words receive support from other witnesses, some of which are fairly decent (A C D Θ Ψ^c 067 Ë^1,13 33 [1424] Ï lat). The omission could have been intentional on the part of some Alexandrian scribes who wished to bring this text in line with the other Gospel accounts that only mention a rooster crowing once (Matt 26:74; Luke 22:60; John 18:27). The insertion could be an attempt to make the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in 14:30 more explicit. Internally, the words “and a rooster crowed” fit Mark’s Gospel here, not only in view of 14:30, “before a rooster crows twice,” but also in view of the mention of “a second time” in 14:71 (a reading which is much more textually secure). Nevertheless, a decision is difficult.

[14:68]  tn A real rooster crowing is probably in view here (rather than the Roman trumpet call known as gallicinium), in part due to the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice. See the discussion at Matt 26:74.