Mark 15:36
Context15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, 1 put it on a stick, 2 and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!”
Mark 16:18
Context16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; 3 they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”
1 sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.
2 tn Grk “a reed.”
3 tn For further comment on the nature of this statement, whether it is a promise or prediction, see ExSyn 403-6.