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 ¹  gave them to his ²  disciples to serve the people, and he divided the two fish among them all.

Markus 10:21

10:21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money ³  to the poor, and you will have treasure ⁴  in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Markus 12:1

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ⁵  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ⁶  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ⁷  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁸  and went on a journey.

Markus 14:3

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ⁹  while Jesus ¹⁰  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ¹¹  a woman came with an alabaster jar ¹²  of costly aromatic oil ¹³  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.

[6:41]  ¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[6:41]  ² 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).

[10:21]  ³ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[10:21]  ⁴ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁶ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁸ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.

[14:3]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ¹¹ sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:3]  ¹² sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[14:3]  ¹³ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.

[14:3]  sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.