Markus 6:3

6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son ¹  of Mary ²  and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And so they took offense at him.

Markus 6:7

Sending Out the Twelve Apostles

6:7 Jesus ³  called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁴ 

Markus 6:41

6:41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He ⁵  gave them to his ⁶  disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all.

Markus 6:48

6:48 He ⁷  saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. As the night was ending, ⁸  he came to them walking on the sea, ⁹  for ¹⁰  he wanted to pass by them. ¹¹ 

[6:3]  ¹ tc Evidently because of the possible offensiveness of designating Jesus a carpenter, several mss ([Ì^45vid] ˹³ 33^vid [565 579] 700 [2542] pc it vg^mss) harmonize the words “carpenter, the son” to the parallel passage in Matt 13:55, “the son of the carpenter.” Almost all the rest of the mss read “the carpenter, the son.” Since the explicit designation of Jesus as a carpenter is the more difficult reading, and is much better attested, it is most likely correct.

[6:3]  ² sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to him as the son of Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).

[6:7]  ³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:7]  ⁴ sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.

[6:41]  ⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:41]  ⁶ tc ‡ Most mss (Ì⁴⁵ A D W Θ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after τοῖς μαθηταῖς (toi" maqhtai", “the disciples”), but several excellent witnesses (א B L Δ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2427 pc) lack the pronoun. This kind of variant is often a predictable expansion of the text; further, that many important mss lack the pronoun gives support for the shorter reading. For these reasons, the pronoun is considered to be secondary. NA²⁷ puts αὐτοῦ in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

[6:41]  tn Grk “the disciples”; the Greek article has been translated here as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).

[6:48]  ⁷ tn This verse is one complete sentence in the Greek text, but it has been broken into two sentences in English for clarity.

[6:48]  ⁸ tn Grk “about the fourth watch of the night,” between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

[6:48]  ⁹ tn Or “on the lake.”

[6:48]  ¹⁰ tn The καί (kai) was translated so as to introduce a subordinate clause, i.e., with the use of “for.” See BDF §442.9.

[6:48]  ¹¹ sn The statement he wanted to pass by them is somewhat difficult to understand. There are at least two common interpretations: (1) it refers to the perspective of the disciples, that is, from their point of view it seemed that Jesus wanted to pass by them; or (2) it refers to a theophany and uses the language of the Greek Old Testament (LXX) when God “passed by” Moses at Sinai (cf. Exod 33:19, 22). According to the latter alternative, Jesus is “passing by” the disciples during their struggle, in order to assure them of his presence with them. See W L. Lane, Mark (NICNT), 236.