6:14 Now 19 King Herod 20 heard this, for Jesus’ 21 name had become known. Some 22 were saying, “John the baptizer 23 has been raised from the dead, and because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.”
1 sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.
2 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
3 tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”
4 sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
3 tn Grk “and ministered to him.”
4 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
4 sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.
5 sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.
5 tn Grk “his”; the referent (the man who had been a deaf mute) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 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.
7 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
8 tn Grk “all the sins and blasphemies they may speak will be forgiven the sons of men.”
8 sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to six feet in height and have a major root system.
9 sn That is, crowded out the good plants.
9 tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) is elastic enough to be used contrastively on occasion, as here.
10 tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.
10 tc Evidently because of the possible offensiveness of designating Jesus a carpenter, several
11 sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to him as the son of Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).
11 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
12 sn Herod was technically not a king, but a tetrarch, a ruler with rank and authority lower than a king. A tetrarch ruled only with the approval of the Roman authorities. This was roughly equivalent to being governor of a region. In the NT, Herod, who ruled over Galilee, is called a king (Matt 14:9, Mark 6:14-29), reflecting popular usage rather than an official title.
13 tn Grk “his”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
15 tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark prefers the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (only twice does he use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).
12 tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”
13 sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in
13 sn See the note on synagogue in 1:21. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.
14 tn Or “this teaching”; Grk “these things.” The response of the people centers upon the content of Jesus’ teaching, so the phrase “these ideas” was supplied in the text to make this clear.