¹ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

² tn Grk “they”; the referent (some unnamed people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn The redundancy in this verse is characteristic of the author’s rougher style.

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn This is a parenthetical explanation by the author.

⁶ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Grk “and James,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

⁹ sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.

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

¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tc Codex Bezae (D) replaces “Do not even go into the village” with “Go to your house, and do not tell anyone, not even in the village.” Other mss with some minor variations (Θ Ë¹³ 28 565 2542 pc) expand on this prohibition to read “Go to your house, and if you go into the village, do not tell anyone.” There are several other variants here as well. While these expansions are not part of Mark’s original text, they do accurately reflect the sense of Jesus’ prohibition.

¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man who asked the question in v. 17) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn Grk “kept.” The implication of this verb is that the man has obeyed the commandments without fail throughout his life, so the adverb “wholeheartedly” has been added to the translation to bring out this nuance.

¹⁵ tn Grk “these things.” The referent of the pronoun (the laws mentioned by Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

sn While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws, he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command to give away all he had revealed that internally he loved money more than God.

¹⁶ sn Since my youth. Judaism regarded the age of thirteen as the age when a man would have become responsible to live by God’s commands.

¹⁷ sn Peter wants reassurance that the disciples’ response and sacrifice has been noticed.

¹⁸ tn Grk “We have left everything and followed you.” Koine Greek often used paratactic structure when hypotactic was implied.

¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²⁰ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

²¹ sn Pharisees and Herodians made a very interesting alliance. W. W. Wessel (“Mark,” EBC 8:733) comments: “The Herodians were as obnoxious to the Pharisees on political grounds as the Sadducees were on theological grounds. Yet the two groups united in their opposition to Jesus. Collaboration in wickedness, as well as goodness, has great power. Their purpose was to trip Jesus up in his words so that he would lose the support of the people, leaving the way open for them to destroy him.” See also the note on “Herodians” in Mark 3:6.

²² tn Grk “trap him in word.”

²³ tn Grk “and James,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Judas) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ sn Judas’ act of betrayal when he kissed Jesus is especially sinister when it is realized that it was common in the culture of the times for a disciple to kiss his master when greeting him.

²⁷ tn Grk “What do you think?”

²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action in the narrative.

²⁹ sn “Are you the king of the Jews?” Pilate was interested in this charge because of its political implications of sedition against Rome.

³⁰ tn Grk “answering, he said to him.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant, but the syntax of the phrase has been modified for clarity.

³¹ sn The reply “You say so” is somewhat enigmatic, like Jesus’ earlier reply to the Jewish leadership (mentioned in Matt 26:64 and Luke 22:70).

³² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

³³ tn Grk “to have him release for them.”

³⁴ sn It is difficult to say for certain who gave Jesus this drink of wine mixed with myrrh (e.g., the executioner, or perhaps women from Jerusalem). In any case, whoever gave it to him most likely did so in order to relieve his pain, but Jesus was unwilling to take it.

³⁵ tn Grk “It was the third hour.” This time would have been approximate, and could refer to the beginning of the process, some time before Jesus was lifted on the cross.

³⁶ sn Mention of the inscription is an important detail, because the inscription would normally give the reason for the execution. It shows that Jesus was executed for claiming to be a king. It was also probably written with irony from the executioners’ point of view.