Mark 1:10

1:10 And just as Jesus ¹  was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens ²  splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ³ 

Mark 1:31

1:31 He came and raised her up by gently taking her hand. Then the fever left her and she began to serve ⁴  them.

Mark 2:9

2:9 Which is easier, ⁵  to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk’?

Mark 4:5

4:5 Other seed fell on rocky ground ⁶  where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. ⁷ 

Mark 4:27

4:27 He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

Mark 4:32

4:32 when it is sown, it grows up, ⁸  becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds ⁹  can nest in its shade.” ¹⁰ 

Mark 4:39

4:39 So ¹¹  he got up and rebuked ¹²  the wind, and said to the sea, ¹³  “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then ¹⁴  the wind stopped, and it was dead calm.

Mark 5:41-42

5:41 Then, gently taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.” 5:42 The girl got up at once and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). They were completely astonished at this. ¹⁵ 

Mark 8:19-20

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, ¹⁶  “Seven.”

Mark 9:2

The Transfiguration

9:2 Six days later ¹⁷  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, ¹⁸ 

Mark 10:49

10:49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So ¹⁹  they called the blind man and said to him, “Have courage! Get up! He is calling you.”

Mark 11:27

11:27 They came again to Jerusalem. ²⁰  While Jesus ²¹  was walking in the temple courts, ²²  the chief priests, the experts in the law, ²³  and the elders came up to him

Mark 14:54

14:54 And Peter had followed him from a distance, up to the high priest’s courtyard. He ²⁴  was sitting with the guards ²⁵  and warming himself by the fire.

Mark 14:60

14:60 Then ²⁶  the high priest stood up before them ²⁷  and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is this that they are testifying against you?”

Mark 15:41

15:41 When he was in Galilee, they had followed him and given him support. ²⁸  Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem ²⁹  were there too.

Mark 16:19

16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

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¹ tn Grk “and immediately coming up out of the water, he saw.” The present participle has been translated temporally, with the subject (Jesus) specified for clarity.

² tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 11.

³ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.

⁴ tn The imperfect verb is taken ingressively here.

⁵ sn Which is easier is a reflective kind of question. On the one hand to declare sins are forgiven is easier, since one does not need to see it, unlike telling a paralyzed person to walk. On the other hand, it is harder, because for it to be true one must possess the authority to forgive the sin.

⁶ sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.

⁷ tn Grk “it did not have enough depth of earth.”

⁸ tn Mark 4:31-32 is fairly awkward in Greek. Literally the sentence reads as follows: “As a mustard seed, which when sown in the earth, being the smallest of all the seeds in the earth, and when it is sown, it grows up…” The structure has been rendered in more idiomatic English, although some of the awkward structure has been retained for rhetorical effect.

⁹ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

¹⁰ sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of the mustard seed that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.

¹¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

¹² tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

¹³ sn Who has authority over the seas and winds is discussed in the OT: Ps 104:3; 135:7; 107:23-30. When Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea he was making a statement about who he was.

¹⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁵ tn The Greek word εὐθύς (euqus, often translated “immediately” or “right away”) has not been translated here. It sometimes occurs with a weakened, inferential use (BDAG 406 s.v. 2), not contributing significantly to the flow of the narrative. For further discussion, see R. J. Decker, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect (SBG 10), 73-77.

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn Grk “And after six days.”

¹⁸ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

²⁰ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

²¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²² tn Grk “the temple.”

²³ tn Or “the chief priests, the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

²⁴ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²⁵ sn The guards would have been the guards of the chief priests who had accompanied Judas to arrest Jesus.

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

²⁷ tn Grk “in the middle.”

²⁸ tn Grk “and ministered to him.”

sn Cf. Luke 8:3.

²⁹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.