Markus 7:8-9

7:8 Having no regard ¹  for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” ²  7:9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up ³  your tradition.

Markus 7:3

7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ⁴  holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

Markus 7:5

7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ⁵  with unwashed hands?”

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 10:1

Divorce

10:1 Then ⁷  Jesus ⁸  left that place and went to the region of Judea and ⁹  beyond the Jordan River. ¹⁰  Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them.

Markus 15:6

Jesus and Barabbas

15:6 During the feast it was customary to release one prisoner to the people, ¹¹  whomever they requested.

Markus 7:12

7:12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.

Markus 2:21

2:21 No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and the tear becomes worse.

[7:8]  ¹ tn Grk “Having left the command.”

[7:8]  ² tc The majority of mss, mostly Byzantine ([A] ˹³ 33 Ï), have at the end of v. 8 material that seems to have come from v. 4 and v. 13: “the washing of pots and cups, and you do many other similar things.” A slight variation on the wording occurs at the very beginning of v. 8 in mostly Western witnesses (D Θ 0131^vid 28 565 it). Such floating texts are usually signs of scribal emendations. The fact that the earliest and most reliable mss, as well as other important witnesses (Ì⁴⁵ א B L W Δ 0274 ˹ 2427 co), lacked this material also strongly suggests that the longer reading is secondary.

[7:9]  ³ tc The translation here follows the reading στήσητε (sthshte, “set up”) found in D W Θ Ë¹ 28 565 2542 it sy^s,p Cyp. The majority of mss here read τηρήσητε (thrhsete; א A L ˹³ 33 Ï co) or τηρῆτε (thrhte; B 2427), both translated “keep.” It is hard to know which reading is best: On the one hand, τηρήσητε/τηρῆτε has much stronger external support, but στήσητε is a more difficult reading. What makes “keep” suspect is that it appears in two different forms, suggesting independent alterations of a difficult reading. Further, scribes may have been influenced by the preceding “commandment of God” to change the text toward “keep” (TCGNT 81), a common enough expression (cf. Matt 19:17; John 14:15; 1 Tim 6:1; 1 John 5:3; Rev 14:12). Thus, the more difficult reading is “set up.” Also, the more natural opposite of “reject” (ἀθεῖτε [aqeite], literally “you set aside”) is “set up.” However, the Western reading may have been influenced by Exod 6:4 or Heb 10:9, but this likelihood seems remote. Thus, “set up” is more likely to be the original wording of Mark here.

[7:3]  ⁴ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:5]  ⁵ tn Grk “eat bread.”

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

[10:1]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[10:1]  ⁸ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ⁹ tc Alexandrian and other witnesses (א B C* L Ψ 0274 892 2427 pc co) read καὶ πέραν (kai peran, “and beyond”), while Western and Caesarean witnesses (C² D W Δ Θ Ë^1,13 28 565 579 1241 al) read πέραν (simply “beyond”). It is difficult to decide between the Alexandrian and Western readings here, but since the parallel in Matt 19:1 omits καί the weight is slightly in favor of including it here; scribes may have omitted the word here to harmonize this passage to the Matthean passage. Because of the perceived geographical difficulties found in the earlier readings (omission of the word “and” would make it seem as though Judea is beyond the Jordan), the majority of the witnesses (A Ï) read διὰ τοῦ πέραν (dia tou peran, “through the other side”), perhaps trying to indicate the direction of Jesus’ travel.

[10:1]  ¹⁰ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity. The region referred to here is sometimes known as Transjordan (i.e., “across the Jordan”).

[15:6]  ¹¹ tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:6]  sn The custom of Pilate to release one prisoner to them is unknown outside the gospels in Jewish writings, but it was a Roman custom at the time and thus probably used in Palestine as well (cf. Matt 27:15; John 18:39); see W. W. Wessel, “Mark,” EBC 8:773-74.