¹ sn This call to “make his paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance.

² sn A quotation from Isa 40:3.

³ tc The reading found in almost the entire NT ms tradition is σπλαγχνισθείς (splancnisqei", “moved with compassion”). Codex Bezae (D), {1358}, and a few Latin mss (a ff² r^1*) here read ὀργισθείς (ojrgisqei", “moved with anger”). It is more difficult to account for a change from “moved with compassion” to “moved with anger” than it is for a copyist to soften “moved with anger” to “moved with compassion,” making the decision quite difficult. B. M. Metzger (TCGNT 65) suggests that “moved with anger” could have been prompted by 1:43, “Jesus sent the man away with a very strong warning.” It also could have been prompted by the man’s seeming doubt about Jesus’ desire to heal him (v. 40). As well, it is difficult to explain why scribes would be prone to soften the text here but not in Mark 3:5 or 10:14 (where Jesus is also said to be angry or indignant). Thus, in light of diverse mss supporting “moved with compassion,” and at least a plausible explanation for ὀργισθείς as arising from the other reading, it is perhaps best to adopt σπλαγχνισθείς as the original reading. Nevertheless, a decision in this case is not easy. For the best arguments for ὀργισθείς, however, see M. A. Proctor, “The ‘Western’ Text of Mark 1:41: A Case for the Angry Jesus” (Ph.D. diss., Baylor University, 1999).

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

⁵ sn Touched. This touch would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean (Lev 14:46; also Mishnah, m. Nega’im 3.1; 11.1; 12.1; 13.6-12).

⁶ tn Grk “to James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James.”

⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁸ tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. Others argued that these brothers were really cousins. Nothing in the text suggests any of this. See also John 7:3.

¹⁰ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹² tn That is, “an official in charge of the synagogue”; ἀρχισυνάγωγος (arcisunagwgo") refers to the “president of a synagogue” (so BDAG 139 s.v. and L&N 53.93; cf. Luke 8:41).

sn The synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership. See also the note on synagogue in 1:21.

¹³ tc Codex Bezae (D) and some Itala mss omit the words “named Jairus.” The evidence for the inclusion of the phrase is extremely strong, however. The witnesses in behalf of ὀνόματι ᾿Ιάϊρος (onomati Iairos) include {Ì⁴⁵ א A B C L Ï lat sy co}. The best explanation is that the phrase was accidentally dropped during the transmission of one strand of the Western text.

¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵ tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (Jimation) denotes the outer garment in particular.

¹⁶ tn Grk “his”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

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

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²³ tc The Western text (D it) and a few others have only καί (kai) here, rather than καὶ προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι (kai proselqonte" Farisaioi, here translated as “then some Pharisees came”). The longer reading, a specific identification of the subject, may have been prompted by the parallel in Matt 19:3. The fact that the mss vary in how they express this subject lends credence to this judgment: οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι προσελθόντες (Joi de Farisaioi proselqonte", “now the Pharisees came”) in W Θ 565 2542 pc; καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ Φαρισαῖοι (kai proselqonte" Joi Farisaioi, “then the Pharisees came”) in א C N (˹: καὶ προσελθόντες ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι) 579 1241 1424 pm; and καὶ προσελθόντες Φαρισαῖοι in A B K L Γ Δ Ψ Ë¹³ 28 700 892 2427 pm. Further, the use of an indefinite plural (a general “they”) is a Markan feature, occurring over twenty times. Thus, internally the evidence looks rather strong for the shorter reading, in spite of the minimal external support for it. However, if scribes assimilated this text to Matt 19:3, a more exact parallel might have been expected: Matthew has καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Φαρισαῖοι (kai proshlqon aujtw Farisaioi, “then Pharisees came to him”). Although the verb form needs to be different according to syntactical requirements of the respective sentences, the word order variety, as well as the presence or absence of the article and the alternation between δέ and καί as the introductory conjunction, all suggest that the variety of readings might not be due to scribal adjustments toward Matthew. At the same time, the article with Φαρισαῖοι is found in both Gospels in many of the same witnesses (א Ï in Matt; א pm in Mark), and the anarthrous Φαρισαῖοι is likewise parallel in many mss (B L ˹³ 700 892). Another consideration is the possibility that very early in the transmissional history, scribes naturally inserted the most obvious subject (the Pharisees would be the obvious candidates as the ones to test Jesus). This may account for the reading with δέ, since Mark nowhere else uses this conjunction to introduce the Pharisees into the narrative. As solid as the internal arguments against the longer reading seem to be, the greatest weakness is the witnesses that support it. The Western mss are prone to alter the text by adding, deleting, substituting, or rearranging large amounts of material. There are times when the rationale for this seems inexplicable. In light of the much stronger evidence for “the Pharisees came,” even though it occurs in various permutations, it is probably wisest to retain the words. This judgment, however, is hardly certain.

sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

²⁴ tn In Greek this phrase occurs at the end of the sentence. It has been brought forward to conform to English style.

²⁵ tn The personal pronoun “his” is not in the Greek text, but is certainly implied and has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the statement (cf. “his wife” in 10:7).

²⁶ tn The particle εἰ (ei) is often used to introduce both indirect and direct questions. Thus, another possible translation is to take this as an indirect question: “They asked him if it were lawful for a man to divorce his wife.” See BDF §440.3.

sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 6:17-19). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.

²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

²⁹ sn The exact location of the village of Bethphage is not known. Most put it on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives and northwest of Bethany, about 1.5 miles (3 km) east of Jerusalem.

³⁰ sn “Mountain” in English generally denotes a higher elevation than it often does in reference to places in Palestine. The Mount of Olives is really a ridge running north to south about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) long, east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. Its central elevation is about 30 meters (100 ft) higher than Jerusalem. It was named for the large number of olive trees which grew on it.

³¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³² tn Grk “And answering, he said to it.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.

³³ sn Mark 11:12-14. The incident of the cursing of the fig tree occurs before he enters the temple for a third time (11:27ff) and is questioned at length by the religious leaders (11:27-12:40). It appears that Mark records the incident as a portent of what is going to happen to the leadership in Jerusalem who were supposed to have borne spiritual fruit but have been found by Messiah at his coming to be barren. The fact that the nation as a whole is indicted is made explicit in chapter 13:1-37 where Jesus speaks of Jerusalem’s destruction and his second coming.

³⁴ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 10:44.

sn This slave (along with the others) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.

³⁵ tn Grk “from the tenants,” but this is redundant in English, so the pronoun (“them”) was used in the translation.

³⁶ tn Grk “from the fruits of the vineyard.”

³⁷ tn Grk “one beloved son.” See comment at Mark 1:11.

sn The owner’s decision to send his one dear son represents God sending Jesus.

³⁸ sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.

³⁹ sn The nature of the judgment coming upon them will be so quick and devastating that one will not have time to come down or go inside to take anything out of his house. It is best just to escape as quickly as possible.

⁴⁰ tn Grk “one who dips with me.” The phrase “his hand” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

⁴¹ sn One who dips with me in the bowl. The point of Jesus’ comment here is not to identify the specific individual per se, but to indicate that it is one who was close to him – somebody whom no one would suspect. His comment serves to heighten the treachery of Judas’ betrayal.

⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁴³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴⁴ tn Grk “Coming up the crowd began to ask [him to do] as he was doing for them.”

⁴⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁴⁶ sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

⁴⁷ tn Grk “by throwing the lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throwing dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling. According to L&N 6.219 a term for “dice” is particularly appropriate.

sn An allusion to Ps 22:18.