Mark 1:18
1:18 They left their nets immediately and followed him. 1
Mark 3:30
3:30 (because they said, “He has an unclean spirit” 2 ).
Mark 5:17
5:17 Then 3 they asked Jesus 4 to leave their region.
Mark 6:12
6:12 So 5 they went out and preached that all should repent.
Mark 6:40
6:40 So they reclined in groups of hundreds and fifties.
Mark 7:4
7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. 6 ) 7
Mark 14:46
14:46 Then they took hold of him 8 and arrested him.
Mark 15:18
15:18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 9
Mark 16:18
16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; 10 they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”
1 sn The expression followed him pictures discipleship, which means that to learn from Jesus is to follow him as the guiding priority of one’s life.
2 sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.
3 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
6 tc Several important witnesses (Ì45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.
7 sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.
8 tn Grk “put their hands on him.”
9 tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”
sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).
10 tn For further comment on the nature of this statement, whether it is a promise or prediction, see ExSyn 403-6.