Markus 8:10-21

8:10 Immediately he got into a boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. ¹ 

The Demand for a Sign

8:11 Then the Pharisees ²  came and began to argue with Jesus, asking for ³  a sign from heaven ⁴  to test him. 8:12 Sighing deeply in his spirit he said, “Why does this generation look for a sign? I tell you the truth, ⁵  no sign will be given to this generation.” 8:13 Then ⁶  he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod

8:14 Now ⁷  they had forgotten to take bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. 8:15 And Jesus ⁸  ordered them, ⁹  “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees ¹⁰  and the yeast of Herod!” 8:16 So they began to discuss with one another about having no bread. ¹¹  8:17 When he learned of this, ¹²  Jesus said to them, “Why are you arguing ¹³  about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? 8:18 Though you have eyes, don’t you see? And though you have ears, can’t you hear? ¹⁴  Don’t you remember? 8:19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, “Twelve.” 8:20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you pick up?” They replied, ¹⁵  “Seven.” 8:21 Then ¹⁶  he said to them, “Do you still not understand?” ¹⁷ 

[8:10]  ¹ sn The exact location of Dalmanutha is uncertain, but it is somewhere close to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

[8:11]  ² sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[8:11]  ³ tn Grk “seeking from him.” The participle ζητοῦντες (zhtountes) shows the means by which the Pharisees argued with Jesus.

[8:11]  ⁴ sn What exactly this sign would have been, given what Jesus was already doing, is not clear. But here is where the fence-sitters reside, refusing to commit to him.

[8:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[8:13]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[8:14]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[8:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “was giving them orders, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[8:15]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[8:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “And they were discussing with one another that they had no bread.”

[8:17]  ¹² tn Or “becoming aware of it.”

[8:17]  ¹³ tn Or “discussing.”

[8:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “do you not hear?”

[8:20]  ¹⁵ tc ‡ A difficult textual problem is found here, involving three different variants: καὶ λέγουσιν (kai legousin) is found in א pc; οἱ δὲ εἶπον (Joi de eipon) is the reading of Ì⁴⁵ A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï it; and καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ (kai legousin autw) is supported by B C L (Δ 579 892) 2427 pc. The first two variants would not be translated differently; the third reading, however, would add “to him” after “they replied.” What complicates the issue is that the external evidence is fairly evenly split between the second and third readings, though the first reading is in agreement with the second reading in lacking the dative pronoun. Indeed, another layout of the problem here could treat this as two distinct problems: καὶ λέγουσιν vs. οἱ δὲ εἶπον and αὐτῷ vs. omission of the word. In this second arrangement of the problem, the reading without the pronoun has slightly stronger support (Ì⁴⁵ א A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï it). Internally, Mark never elsewhere uses the form εἶπον for the third person plural indicative form of this verb (it is always εἶπαν [eipan]). And although only one other time in Mark is the object lacking after λέγουσιν (6:38), it is a similar context (viz., the disciples’ response before Jesus feeds the 5000). Very tentatively, the reading that is followed here is καὶ λέγουσιν. NA²⁷ puts αὐτῷ in brackets, indicating some doubt as to its authenticity.

[8:21]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then” to indicate the implied sequence in the narrative.

[8:21]  ¹⁷ sn Do you still not understand? The disciples in Mark’s Gospel often misunderstood the miracles of Jesus as well as his teaching. Between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Mark paints the most revealing portrait of the shortcomings of the Twelve (cf. 6:51-52; 7:17-19; 8:1-10, 14-21, 27-30, 33; 9:5, 10, 33; 10:28, 35-45; 14:19, 29-31, 32-37, 50, 66-72).